One Hundred Days
by Mister Don Johnny Cadet Sir
Summary: A theme challenge that is dedicated to the duly unnoticed Garuru Platoon. Secrets, thoughts, pasts, pasta... and a whole jug of water. Welcome to Arizona. /Want a character to make a cameo? Suggest them to me. If they're popular or fun to write they may be written more than once. Three plus three equals brownies. Believe it.
1. Introduction

**DAY ONE, DAY ONE: INTRODUCTION**

* * *

"I have always been taught that you Pekoponians panic when greeted with someone not from your world."

"Ha. Ha-ha-ha. No. I'm panicking."

"You are?"

"Oh, yeah. On the inside."

I smiled weakly as I struggled to set down the glass of water. I'm sure that that thing could hear the ice cubes jingle inside it.

"I see."

You know those really cliché alien movies where like a spaceship would come crashing down through some poor idiot's attic and cause some sort of havoc? That's always hilarious. You laugh at the idiot who has to endure flipping over the sight of an extra-terrestrial (often resulting in screaming, smacking the thing, or attempting to call the FBI, though, in my case, was simply inviting it over for tea), attempting to hide it away from the eyes of their peers and/or family members, and try to get it back safely home. E.T. go home.

Only it kinda stops being funny when it's you. In my case, _me. _

_Okay, stop laughing_. I'm serious.

Alright, maybe I don't have an attic, but I have a park. Which was freaking conveniently empty (although I really wasn't that surprised; it was about 50 degrees… which is _cold _by our standards).

I wonder if it still would've been my problem if I decided not to adhere to my whining dog's objections about going out for a sudden urge to walk. She's spoiled, sue us.

The purple alien gulped down its second glass of water, and I just kinda watched in fascination.

"What?" It asked, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

"O-oh, nothing!" I said, waving my hands nervously. "N-nothing at all."

"May I get some more, if you don't mind?"

"S-sure," I stammered. I grabbed the cup and hurried over to the freezer, pulled it open, dunked in the ice, filled in the water, and slid it back to the purple (…frog?) alien. It seemed almost amused, its head following my every rigid movement.

"Why is it so frogging dry here?" It grumbled, downing its third glass.

"Welcome to Arizona," I said automatically. I covered my mouth with one hand and mumbled several apologies, all the while praying that the thing didn't shoot me or something.

"I suppose we should begin the introductions, then," It said, putting down the empty cup. "I am…" It hesitated. "Garuru."

"Garuru?" I was quiet. "Um. Okay. Hi. I'm Johnny Cadet."

It gave me a solemn look.

"…Would you mind answering a question of mine?"

"Um. Sure. Shoot."

"…You don't want me to do that."

"…._Right. _So, um. The question?"  
"Are you female or male?"

I blinked at it in bewilderment. Sure, I may be a little short, with thick brown hair and large brown eyes, but I thought it would've been obvious. I would've also appreciated a little bit of a meandering way to ask an awkward question. But I don't have the guns, so…. "I'm a _guy._"

It grunted. "I figured. You Pekoponians all look the same to me."

"…Would you mind answering the same question to me?"

Garuru perked a brow. "I am male."

"Good. Just… making sure." I gestured to his glass, to which he slid it back over to me, and I repeated the process the third time in a row. After I gave it to him, I decided to get several more glass cups and fill them with water to help the guy out, and to, you know, prevent me from embarrassing myself. I swear that I almost slipped on the stupid tile just to get him the _first _cup of water.

He was fidgeting with a device, occasionally smacking it against the wooden table.

My curiosity killed whatever sense of modesty I had. "What are you doing?"

"I'm signaling my team members," He said with a certain degree of concern. "It seems they're lost."

"…Wait. There's _more _of you?"

"Yes." Garuru glanced up at me. "You seem surprised."

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

I blushed. "I'm sorry. I do that a lot."

"Do all Pekoponians apologize for apologizing?"

"N-no. Mostly it's just me."

Garuru grunted. "You remind me of someone, though I can't remember his name…"

I shrugged a little and gazed over to the glass door on my left, the one that overlooked the huge backyard. "So… um. Not trying to be rude, but are you planning on crashing here?"

"No. I crashed at the park. You saw that."

I laughed, but stopped and reddened when I remember he was _there_. "Sorry. I tend to laugh a lot."

"You're fine."

"I meant, stay here. Were you planning on staying here?"

Garuru mused on that for a while before he nodded.

I rose both my eyebrows. "Seriously?" _I didn't think he'd actually want to... _I asked out of politeness. I mean, alien. Hello! What's wrong with me? Why am I suddenly treating this situation as if it were normal?

"I was originally planning to sleep in my ship, but… with this dry air, it's certainly not possible."

"About your ship…"

Garuru waved his hand dismissively as he reached for his seventh cup of water. "It's fine. It's invisible to the Pekoponian eye."

Okay, that made sense. He _said _he crashed, though I didn't see any space ship (which, admittedly, is a bit of a bummer; I always wondered what a ship from a different universe/world looked like). He had cursed that something of his was broken, because I could clearly see him, and he could clearly see me seeing him; my eyes no doubt wider, my face no doubt paler, and my dog checking him out like he was some sort of mysterious purple fire hydrant.

Ah, whatever the case…

"I'll get my room ready. Are you fine with a sleeping bag, or do you insist on using my bed?"

Garuru shook his head. "A sleeping bag would be appropriate." He raised a brow in my direction. "…Cadet-?"

"I'm _never _watching the Brave Little Toaster." I gave him a strict look. "You can tie me to the chair, but I'm never, _ever _watching that movie. _Ever_."

"…I beg your pardon?"

I flushed. "Nothing. Ignore it. I'm gonna set the room up now."

Garuru examined me for a moment. "Do I come with you?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure," I nodded. "Come on up."

He seemed mildly surprised at the huge living room and the wide, sharp-turning stairs.

"My room's straight down the hallway," I said. "Just let me get you your sleeping bag."

"…Who do these other rooms belong to?" Garuru asked politely, jerking his head to the ones next to mine.

"Oh," I got on my tiptoes and reached for one at the top, trying to avoid the purple one that was much closer to ground-level. "They belong to my sibs."

"…Are any of them… older?"

"No," I sighed in defeat and snatched the purple sleeping bag. "Here. I'm the oldest."

"I see," He said slowly, taking the bundled up cloth.

"You have any sibs?"

"…A brother," Garuru replied, turning the sleeping bag around. "I'm also the oldest."

"Really? What's his name?"

"Giroro."

"Garuru, Giroro. Huh. Cool. You two close?"

"I try to be support…" His voice trailed off, and he shot two piercing eyes at me. "_Why_."

"N-nothing!" I stuttered. "I was just trying to be curious! I'm sorry!"

"_Stop_apologizing."

"I'm sor-"

Garuru glared.

"Shutting up."

He gave me hard eyes just for good measure before he turned them to the opposite side, where an enormous room opened up.

"And… does that belong to one of your siblings as well?"

"No. My parents' room."

He turned to me. "Your parent's? So you have one parent?"

"No. My parents. I have two."

"Remarried?"

"No. Birth parents."

Something kind of clicked; I'm not sure what it was, but that faraway, distant look he gave me told me that something was going through his head when I said that. Like whatever I said was some sort of marvel.

He gazed down. "Do you have arranged marriages here, in Pekopon?"

"No," I said, a little surprised at this. "Well, actually, yeah, but they're not really common in the U.S."

"So… your parents… they married out of-?"

"Love? Um, first they had me, and then they got married." He just gave me this bewildered stare, and I laughed in response. "But yeah, I guess you could say that. They do love each other very much now, though."

"…I see," Garuru muttered.

"Why do you ask? Arranged marriages in…. wherever you're from?"

"Yes. They're more common, I suppose you can say."

I wasn't sure whether he agreed with the custom or not, so I just nodded. "Okay. And what about your parents?"

There was a still, almost agitated silence. Instead of glaring at me however, he just narrowed his lips into a straight, irritated line and refused to look into my face.

"…I'm sorry, I'm being-"

"-nosy? Yes. I'm afraid you are."

There was another long, awkward, vacant absence of sound.

I coughed quietly. "Okay. So…" I kicked my closed door open. "The lock's broken, so if you need to get it, literally just push. If you need to lock it, grab the knob and pull it up."

"What a strange house," Garuru murmured.

"It's just my room," I assured him. I unrolled the sleeping bag and threw it on the floor. "There. I guess… that's your space."

"So you wouldn't mind if I slept now?"

"No, of course not. Go right ahead."

As he made himself comfortable, I headed toward the door.

"Don't let the bed bugs bite!"

There was a piercing, loud _ZAP _the second the last word left my mouth. I raced back to my room to find the bag practically disintegrated (I'm being overdramatic; it was only singed at the tip) and Garuru poised with an enormous gun resting against his shoulder. I was awestruck. No, that's not the word. _Shell shocked _is the word.

"_….DUDE. _Did you just seriously shoot a hole through my floor?!"

* * *

**This is for fun XD It's also an interesting exercise that I thought might help me with my writing. When I can, I'm going to write everyday with the "100 Theme Challenge" (yes… one hundred chapters… one hundred days… it sounds like a reality tv show). And since so little is written about the Garuru Platoon… well… I thought I might give it a shot!**

**Don't cry. I promise it isn't going to be just about me. I'm just the "narrator", and the Platoon are the main focus. This chapter just focused on me a little so that you could get a sense of my "character". Or something. Yeah. So, in this "challenge", I'm going to try to apply each theme to each character's personality, past, or thoughts and emotions. Sounds like fun, so..**

**Um. Right. This may be a stupid idea, but even idiots hit on stupid ideas sometimes!**

**…Wait. **  
**Err, the point is, just like the Keroro platoon has a different human partner for each member, I need four more people. If you're interested, PM me, or review. It is kinda like a collaboration, except I'm writing everything XD You're just telling me what you would do in certain situations. There are only TWO PEOPLE right now that I will automatically agree to. You have to more or less impress me if you want to be in this story.**

**One hundred themes… what have I gotten myself into…?**

**If you flame, I will hurt you (: Criticism is one thing, being a jerk is quite another.**


	2. Complications

**Thank you all for your characters! I already have four people and I'm really glad you all are enjoying this story so far. Thank you!**

**DAY TWO, WORD TWO: COMPLICATIONS  
**

* * *

"Are these yours?"

"Hm?" I threw my heavy bag on my bed. "What?"

"Those," Garuru repeated, gesturing toward the drawings, the paintings, the blahs of work on my furniture.

"Oh, yeah," I shrugged. "I made them."

He nodded politely and said nothing more.

…Yeah, they're pieces of crap, but what can I do? Art's too fun to throw away.

"Hey, a proposition for you," I said, taking my bag and tossing it in my closet. "What if we exchange information-?"

"_No_."

I was a little startled by his sudden answer, but I continued nonetheless. "No, wait, hear me out. I mean, we're both interested about our planets and our lives, right?" He was quiet. "O-okay then… I mean, you seem to wonder about a Pokemon's life-"

"_Pekoponian_."

"…Right… um, yeah, that. And I'm curious about how… you guys live. If I wanted to know something about you, I would have to tell you something about me first, and vice versa. The only exception would be our governments and our economy; we won't mention that. Then our planets would be safe from each other, right?"

Again, he was silent.  
_  
…Gosh. _I get _really _nervous when I'm the only one talking.

"C'mon, Garuru… I know you're just as curious as I am… don't have to pretend-"

"Don't treat me as if you know me," Garuru said coldly, glowering intently at me.

"A-aha, I-I'm sorry."

He grunted and proceeded to look around my room.

"Um, I know you may or may not be interested, p-per-say," I stammered, "But, um… if you ever do become interested in your stay here… let me know."

Garuru nodded again.

I gave something of a sigh and scratched the back of my neck.

"Do you need help?"

"What?" The purple alien gazed over to me. "With what, may I ask?"

"U-um, I meant, are you going to need help finding your…" I waved my hands. "…um… friends?"

"My pl-… teammates."

"Yeah."

Garuru contemplated deeply at this, something I found he normally did when he was making a decision (even what to eat for breakfast, which actually amused me… not that I let him know that). "I suppose. Do you know this area better than I do?"

"Whole neighborhood," I confirmed. "Just hop on the back of my bike and I'll ride you around."

He grimaced.

"…Okay…. You don't like that idea. Okay. Don't worry; I'll think of something else."

"You really live to please, don't you?"

I jumped at this. "H-huh?"

"I understand from observing you that you don't like to argue when I disagree with something."

"…Um… is that bad?"

Garuru gave a small, nonchalant shrug. "Perhaps. Perhaps not."

I waited for him to continue, but he just turned and walked toward the window.

Man (…_frog…_?) of little words. Yeesh. It was going to be hard talking to him.

"So, did you or did you not want to go outside?"

"To be completely honest, I don't." He reached for his mouth and fingered his lips. "I'm afraid it's still a bit too dry for me."

"Welcome to Arizona." I blushed again. "Um. Ignore that. It's a bad, bad habit."

"You're fine."

"Alright, let's see…" I closed my eyes and folded my arms, thinking. "…Hey. Do you have a phone or something? Or some way of communicating with you?"

"I might," Garuru mused.

"Because, I could ride around town for you," I offered. "I don't mind. If I notice something interesting, I'll let you know."

"I would appreciate it," He said. "However, like me, the others might have found another place where the air isn't so dry. Perhaps at another living quarters. Are you good at inconspicuously walking up to others of your kind and asking questions?"

I smiled weakly. "…Sure."

Garuru perked a brow. "You don't sound sure."

"N-no, I do. I-I do. I mean, I am. Sort of. Kind of. No, I'm not. Not really."

He frowned and rolled his eyes slightly, but wandered back over to his "bed" and pulled out something from under his sleeping bag. "I do have a tool here that may be able to communicate to your own mobile device for miles away. May I see it?"

"Sure." I slid out my cell from my pocket and handed it to him. "You aren't going to break it, are you?"

"I'll try not to."

His voice was so deadpanned I wasn't sure whether he was serious or not. But he's been serious so far…

"Dude, this is the first phone I've had since like,_ middle school_. Please don't break it."

"I won't," He assured me quietly, looking from his device to mine. After punching quite a few buttons, he gave it back to me. Well, more like tossed. I tried catching it but it bounced from my hand and tried to commit suicide.

"I'll take it you aren't enlisted in the army?" Garuru said to me, folding his arms as he watched me crouch down to pick up my phone.

"What? Oh. Oh, no. I'm not." I shook my head. "I'd… really not get into that, please?"

He waved his hand dismissively. "Alright."

"…Are you in the army?"

"I might."

"Okay, listen." I turned to him and was still taken aback by his cold, red eyes as he stared at me. "You're going to be living here, yeah? I'm really sorry, but I think I'd be more comfortable if we were freer… that's a word, right? Yeah; if we were freer about ourselves. If we just secluded ourselves and didn't talk to each other, this… this awkwardness-" I literally waved my hands around myself "-isn't going to go away. And besides, I'm afraid that if you don't know me very well, you could shoot me in your sleep."

"I very well might."

Another deadpanned response. I chuckled faintly. "That's funny."

He wasn't laughing.

I coughed. "O-okay. Um. So. What do you say?" Remembering my position, I added a very frail, "please?"

Silence filled the room…

"Alright."

"Because even if you don't, I- …Did you say alright?"

"Don't make me regret my decision."

I sighed with relief. "Thank you."

"But not today," Garuru said, his voice hardening a little. "I need to get my thoughts straight; think about what to share with you, and what not to. Just because I am, doesn't mean I necessarily trust you."

"That's understandable."

"G-… what is that?"

I glanced up at the small shadow on the wall. "Oh, that's a cricket. They occasionally come in- please put the gun down. _Please _put the gun down…"


	3. Making History

**DAY THREE, WORD THREE: MAKING HISTORY**

* * *

"What am I supposed to be looking for again?"

It took a while for him to respond.

"Just see what you can find, and then report it to me."

_Gee, how informative._

I wonder how I'll be able to accomplish that supposedly simple task, though. Teenage boy, riding the streets, occasionally sneaking glances at random people and houses. Oh, no. I'm definitely not going to get mistaken for a stalker and/or robber-to-be. Nope; simply not possible.

As I pedaled harder, I felt the wind rush past my cheeks, _whooshing _heavily by my ears. My bike bounced against the curb and onto the sidewalk, slowly gliding back onto the street again. Houses, lawns, and pink flamingoes blended into a watercolor panting as I streaked past each one. Rocks bumped and skipped from the wheels, newspapers and garbage bound to get run over.

Sometimes, as I felt myself accelerate, I would wonder about the speed at which I was going. But just as quickly as I had thought it, the notion would simply get left behind. I always went this fast; it wasn't as if it was new to me, nor common for me to crash or fall off.

Was I sadly mistaken.

Probably while another warning signal flashed in my brain did I zoom by a large white moving van- new neighbor, maybe- and begin to narrowly dodge various objects left on the ground; the sofa, the mattress, the boxes of clothes. I thought I would be alright for the most part… _oh, feel sorrow for my stupidity. _

Where did that ramp come from? I have no clue. All I know is that the next thing I knew, I found my body jilted off my bike and onto the air.

"_Whoa! Look at him fly!"_

The colors and the sounds around me faded in and out. Everything would grow dark, and this cheerful laughter would weaken, but just as quickly it would brighten and get louder, and go back and forth, like the throbbing of a beating heart.

No, wait; that's just my brain.

"_Why _are you laughing? Did you even see if he's okay yet?"

"I-I'm sorry, it was just…" The voice burst into another fit of giggles.

"I-I'm fine…" I mumbled, reaching for my head. "Jush a little concushed…"

"You sure?"

"Yeah," I said dismissively. "Ugh… my knee is _killing _me, though…"

"Well, you did scrape it up pretty bad," The second voice mused. "Let me go get you a band-aid."

"Can you sit up?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." I pulled myself from off the street and grimaced at the pain that was beginning to pulse after my shock.

"You sure you're alright there?"

I glanced up and found myself face to face with a girl I had never seen before. Brown eyes with short, brown hair. Friendly, upbeat smile. "Yeah, I'm totally fine."

"You keep _saying _that," She pointed out. "But it sounds like you're hurting."

"Like I said, I'm fine," I assured her. "I'm clumsy; I hurt myself _all the time. _And plus, you see this?" I knocked my skull with a knuckle. "Hardheaded to boot."

She giggled. "I'm Rita. We just moved here. You a neighbor?"

I looked at the nearest street sign and made a bit of a face. "Well, more or less. I'm in this neighborhood, but not in this street. I've been just riding around."

"I think you just broke the world record," Rita said cheerfully. "I mean, that's _gotta _be a world record! You just _flew…_"

"Oh yeah? Let's just hope that's the _only _thing I broke…"

"Here." The second voice, an older, much softer version of this other girl but with an addition of black hair and glasses handed me the bandage. "Hope this helps."

"Thanks," I said, accepting it. "I appreciate it, really."

"So!" The older girl said, straightening herself as she stood up. "You a neighbor?"

I smoothed the band-aid against my knee. "Ah… in a way."

"Cool." She smiled. "I'm Kitty. I'm her sister."

"I can tell," I said while returning the gesture. "You two look alike."

"So I'm guessing since you're in this neighborhood, you go to the school near here?" Kitty inquired patiently.

"What? You mean Houston?" I shook my head. "No, I don't. I go to… another school."

"Oh really?" Rita said, a little surprised. "Which one?"

"I can't tell you; I work for the F.B.I."

Rita stared at me in bewilderment, and Kitty just chuckled.

"It's a joke," I said quickly. "I tell that to everyone. But yeah; I go to another school. I have a variance." I added unnecessarily.

"That's funny," Rita giggled. "You think you can stand up?" She offered a hand.

"Let's hope so." I stood up without accepting it. A rude motion, I know. I'm horrible.

The two sisters just stared at me.

"…What?"

"You're… a lot shorter that I thought you were."

My felt my whole face heat up at the very statement. _Oh dear. _I constantly forgot that this comment is just so flipping _common_.

"How old are yo-?"

"Where's my bike?"

"Over there," Kitty pointed at the ramp. "I'll go get it for you."

"N-no, it's fine-…"

"Relax, I got it."

I sighed in defeat. "Okay, you win. Thanks again."

"No problem."

I wheeled my bicycle away from their lawn and turned to wave. "It was nice meeting you two."

"It was nice meeting you…" Rita trailed off. "Wait. What's your name again?"

"Johnny," I called back. "My name's Johnny."

"Okay. Bye, Johnny!" Rita waved. She lowered her hand and gazed off to the side, where the ramp stood idly around the random objects laying on the ground. "Hey, Kitty? …Since when did we ever have a ramp?"

Kitty turned to her sister, perhaps to say something playful or smart, or cute or funny, but a look of sudden realization set on her face instead as she thought about what Rita had said. "…I have _no idea._"

* * *

"So I'll take it you didn't find anything," Garuru said flatly.

"Thanks for your concern," I mumbled, wincing with each step I took. "You aren't going to ask what happened?"

"Is it significant?"

"…_Really?!"_

"So I'll take it you didn't find anything," Garuru repeated.

"No, I didn't," I told him, sitting down on my bed. "Ouch."

Garuru released a ball of air, his fingers flying to the temples on his forehead. "Fine. What happened?"

"I flew off my bike. _Thank you _for asking."

"…What did I mention about speaking to me with familiarity-?"

"I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "Well, I appreciate your attempt to find my teammates. And I apologize that you got hurt in the process... And my attitude toward your injury."

"Thank you," I said sincerely. Well, more sincerely than my last comment. Huh. At least it seemed the guy had _something _of a heart. Or part of one. Or resembling one, whatever organ that alien space creatures possessed. I relaxed my knee and extended my legs out against the sheets. "So how was your… um. Day, I guess?"

Garuru grunted. "You have nothing of interest here."

"Use your imagination," I said with a small smile. "I have lots of books. Just… don't read the AP Gov or AP Econ books, okay? Remember our deal."

"I am well aware of our deal."

"Good." I just hoped he could keep his word. "Um. Let's see…" I turned my attention toward the bookshelf/wall thingy to my right and examined the stacks of literature leaning on each other at the top. "I have… 'Things Fall Apart'. I think you might like that."

"Really. What is it about?"

"Read and find out." I fell back against the pillows. "Because frankly, I bought it and never really read it myself."

From the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of a smirk twitch at the corners of his lips, but it disappeared as sudden as it had come. Shame.

I wonder how he sounds when he laughs?

"Hey, Garuru? Question."

"Yes?"

"When can we start sharing stories?" I looked up at the ceiling in a rather sad attempt to avoid gazing into his eyes. "You said that we could start today, right?"

"I simply said 'not today'," Garuru said tightly. "It did not give any indication that we would start today."

I pouted, but said nothing of the matter. "Whenever you're ready, then."

The next few minutes we spent in silence- he looking at the book I had suggested earlier and me trying to find shapes on the walls (they all looked like blobs. Creativity!).

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to say something completely random in a desperate try to work up some sort of conversation.

"You know, teasing my sibs is a lot of fun," I said quickly. "Sometimes I'll hug them in front of their friends, or just act really silly. They don't like it though; pretty sure they think I'm weird and would probably sometimes prefer pretending that I'm not related to them."

"I understand what you mean."

I jumped. "What?"

Garuru was visibly smirking now, a small fang peeking out from under his top lip. "Yes. I do understand what you mean."

"Do you now?" I prompted, rolling to my stomach. "What's your brother like anyway?"

Garuru thought about this, closing the novel and gazing at the orange and beige colored cover. "I would say he's very… emotive."

"Emotive?"

"Yes. He used to not be so before; I sometimes wonder what happened."

"What do you mean?"

"He was… calmer, let's put it at that," Garuru said slowly, as if trying to pull the correct words together. "He didn't used to be so… expressive."

"Like-?"

Garuru stretched his lips to a thin frown. "He's much more quick tempered now. Unfortunately, it tends to be his downfall in his performance. He lets the anger overwhelm him, distract him from his target sometimes, but sometimes…" He softened to a more thoughtful look. "Sometimes his emotions are his strength, however. It depends on how he uses them to his advantage."

"Cool," I said simply, feeling a little stupid. "Um. I guess I'm kind of emotive? I don't know. But my sibs… I know that if given the scenario, they can retain their cool a lot more than I ever could." A distant memory came to mind, and I shuddered, mentally shooing it off. "But, yeah. I guess that could count as a story."

"As did your experience," Garuru said with a mutual nod. "Yes. That is all for today." He paused, and then continued, "So you also enjoy humiliating your siblings for pleasure?"

"Oh yeah. It's awesome. What do you to your brother anyway?"

"I pitch a bomb to him from time to time."

I stared at him. "A… bomb?"

"Yes. You should try it."

"…I'm… pretty sure that's illegal here, Garuru."

* * *

**I just realized that this chapter is longer than my other two. Goals! Or something.  
**  
**Anyway, this one was a little hard. I mean, "Making History"? The only thing I could think of was "World Record", and, yeah… *ahem* I'll try to be more creative on my next few chapters.**

**Also, I want to point out… *bow* I'm really, really, really sorry about this, but just as I had put in my profile, I just want to make it clear to everyone I'm putting in this story and others: I am not here on this site to make friends. I'm really sorry. I've had some really negative experiences from making friends on the internet, and I would really appreciate it if you all could understand. I only wanted to try this out because it sounded it fun and different and thought it would be nice to include other people… but I'm not here to make friends. So if I ignore your questions that may be about my personal life, or seem a little cold or distant, please don't take it personally. I'm sorry.**

**But I still hope you enjoy reading/participating! Thank you for reading anyway.**


	4. Rivalry

**DAY FOUR, WORD FOUR: RIVALRY  
**

* * *

What do I like? Murder mysteries. They're _sick. _

…

Um, sorry, no pun intended.

But yeah; I love murder mysteries. That's probably why I enjoy watching _Bones _(the characters are awesome too, adding flavor to the crime fighting and all) and other things from Netflix that involve how someone was killed and who had done the deed. The psychological reasoning behind it intrigues me; who on earth would want to kill their own kind for something as stupid as money? I think if I was smart enough, I would want to go into something like that, get into the minds of murders and serial killers alike.

I'm an idiot, though, so I'll have to be satisfied with watching whatever I could find.

But what was I doing on a perfectly good Saturday morning?

On my bike. _Again. _

My knee had healed somewhat; turns out that stupidity makes wounds heal faster, or at least helps you get over the initial pain.

You gotta love pizza.

I rode from the opposite side of the neighborhood this time, an area I didn't get to cover after yesterday's fanatics. The houses were a little bit bigger, and the families were a little livelier. Time to time bunches of kids no doubt related to each other would stop their basketball game in the middle of the street to let me through.

"I still don't find anything, Garuru," I spoke to my phone. "Really; just riding around like this makes it feel like I'm chasing a beheaded goose or something."

"Isn't the Pekopon phrase 'leading a wild goose chase'?"

"Yeah, yeah, Mr. I'm-Not-From-This-Planet."

"…_Familiarity…"_

"I'm sorry."

He sighed. "Like I've been saying; just keep an eye out. When it comes the day that the air isn't so dry I shall accompany you."

"That's a deal," I said, stopping my bike. "Okay, I need to let you go now. Call me if you need to tell me anything else."

He hung up.

I rolled my eyes slightly. Having an alien in your room isn't as exciting as the movies make it out to be; especially if they're grumpy and always serious. Then again, I tend to get a bit temperamental too when I'm bored or lonely. Maybe that's it. I turned off my phone and slipped it to my back pocket.

Yay, I missed.

With a sickening _crack, _my phone crashed into three different plastic pieces and sprinkled the ground with their misery. I groaned and pulled my bicycle to a complete stop, squeezing the handle bars for support as I leaned to the side to get off.

"Great," I mumbled, setting the bike on the sidewalk.

"You need help?"

"Huh?" I looked over my shoulder and reddened when I saw another girl leaning down to pick up the pieces of my phone. "No! It's fine, I got it, I got it!"

The girl jumped, startled at my reluctance to let her help me out. She had long, straight black hair and wide greenish-blue eyes, and a small mouth that had opened slightly in preparation to protest. "What? What's wrong?"

"N-nothing, I got it," I assured her, quickly taking the bits of phone from her. I inspected the screen and sighed, relieved that it wasn't cracked. "Okay."

I blushed even deeper when I realized she was staring at me. "W-what?"

"I've never seen you before," She told me, blinking. "Do you go to Houston?"

"N-no. I don't."

"Oh. Then… where do you go?"

"I work for the F.B.I., so I can't tell you."

She gave me a funny look, and I broke whatever nervousness I had with a smile. "I'm kidding. It's something that I say to everyone when they ask me where I go to school. I… can't tell anyone."

"Oh," She said mildly with a small laugh. "Okay. Well, anyway; I'm Ruby."

"Johnny," I introduced myself, remembering that I had forgotten to do that yesterday with the sisters. I held my hand out, which somewhat surprised her as she slowly accepted the token of greeting. "I'm Johnny."

"Cool." She gave me a sly look. "Is that your real name, or did the F.B.I. give you that name too?"

"Shh," I grinned. I returned my attention to the phone and began to piece it together, sticking the battery in and getting annoyed when it didn't fit."

"Here; let me try."

"No, no, I got it."

After playing with it a while, she finally took it from me. "_I _got it." She inserted the battery in and slapped on the back with a single snap of a finger. "There. See?"

"Thanks," I said, taking it. I stood up from my position and she stared at me as she repeated my gesture. "…What?"

"Um… I thought _I _was short."

I felt my face go aflame again. "N-no! I-I mean, _yes, _but…"

"How old are you?"

"I best be going," I said with a nervous laugh. "Y-yeah, I'm going now."

"Wait, I'm bored," She said with a small pout. "I have like no music to listen to right now; it's charging."

"I'm sorry," I said, backing away. "But I really ought to-"

"Race with me."

"I beg your pardon?"

"C'mon, please?" She begged. "Just one."

"I'm pretty fast," I said slowly. "But I'm not sure if you noticed my knee, so…"

"You don't have to run. Use your bike. Race with me."

I gave her a look, but I knew there was no use in objecting. I sighed. "Okay. Just one race."

"Yay!" She said cheerfully. "See that red stop sign?"

I squinted. "Sort of."

"Okay; there, and then back."

"How about just there?"

"Alright; works for me."

"Okay, one… two… three… _go!"_

I pedaled hard again, pumping my legs in quick, steady circles. On the other side of the street, I could see a blur of black and white and gray, a fusion of colors.

Wow, she's pretty fast.

Don't pay attention. I'll crash. And crashing is not fun.

I squeezed the handlebars as I headed toward the red stop sign. Unfortunately, I did it too soon. I stopped before I could reach it, before Ruby sped by me and slapped the red metal sign with a victory pump.

"_Yes!_" She said joyfully. "Ha! Beat ya!"

"You're really good," I said with a small grin. I refused to let it show that this race wounded my male ego. But hey, what could I do?

"Thanks," Ruby said cheerfully, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. "You're pretty fast on that, for a little thing."

"I'm _not _little!" I shot back, though more playful than offended.

"I'm sorry," She laughed. "Okay, then; fun-sized."

I opened my mouth to complain, but instead let a thoughtful look mollify my features. "You know what? Yeah, I like that. Fun-sized; like M&Ms."

"Like M&Ms," She agreed. "So, till next time?"

"Till next time," I said with a nod.

"Yeah, definitely," She promised.

I rode away in my bike.

* * *

"Maybe it'll help if you tell me what exactly I'm looking for," I told him, whipping off the sheets from my bed that I had neglected to do that morning. "Like… what are your friends like?"

"Teammates."

"Teammates," I repeated, wondering why he preferred this term rather than the one I would use.

"Taruru is… interesting," Garuru said, again in deep contemplation. Each of the words had to be _precise, _it seemed. "As the second youngest member he has much potential, though he still displays much of a childish demeanor."

"Alright."

"Tororo is the youngest of the team, and it easily shows," He closed his eyes. "However, he is very, very intelligent. His obsession with wanting to… better himself and raise himself up is his weakness. Zoruru is stealthy, and extremely competent. It's just a shame that everyone seems to ignore his existence."

"Ignore his existence?"

"Yes."

"…Huh."

"And Pururu." Garuru paused. "Pururu… she's the latest addition to our team, but a valuable asset. She is our nurse, but she is also very competent when it comes to battle."

"You seem really fond of her."

"She was Giroro's friend as a child."

"Oh," I said, not quite expecting this. "So she's about his age?"

"Yes."

"How old are you guys anyway?"

Garuru shrugged. "I'm not sure how to convert it into Pekopon years. But I was an adolescent when Giroro was a child."

"So you guys were pretty distant age-wise," I said, thinking about it.

"Yes." Garuru mediated on this. "Perhaps a bit too far."

"Well," I plopped my pillows where they were supposed to and sat down. "We were all born pretty close; we actually all go to the same high school."

He nodded stiffly, lost in dreaded thought.

"So, is that all?"

"….Did I mention Zoruru?"

"Yes, you did."

"Then yes, that is all."

I sighed heavily and fell back against my bed. _Geez. _Four different aliens, possibly four different houses, and that's assuming if they're even near each other at all. What are the odds that I just actually passed _by _those houses? Slim. _Really _slim.

I wish those people who had those aliens at their home would at least come up and say hi. I mean, that isn't so hard, is it?

I sighed. Whatever. I find them or I don't. Or at least, if not now, later.

"Hey." I said, deciding that a change of subject was in order. "Do you like music?"

Garuru gazed over at me. "Music?"

"Yeah; it's this really nice sound-"

"I know what music is."

"Then, do you like it?"

Garuru hesitated. "It depends on what genre of music."

"Do you have a specific genre you like?"

He was very, very quiet. "…I'd rather not say."

"Okay, then," I looked at my phone and clicked to YouTube."There's a play list that I like listening to; maybe we both like something from here." I put my phone on the middle of my bed and put the speakers up. "I like this song. The guitar's really nice."

"Guitar?"

"It's an instrument. The one I have leaning against my wall there."

Garuru nodded.

"_They painted up your secrets, and the lies they told to you…"_

"Johnny!"

"U-uh…" I looked from the door to my phone, and said quickly, "I'll leave that here." and fled down the stairs to my mother's voice.

When I had come back to my room, Garuru was covering his face with one hand and… wait. Was he blushing?

Unless turning completely red in the face was normal or some other different reaction, but yeah. Garuru was blushing.

"What's wrong?" I asked, not sure whether or not to be worried.

He coughed and pointed at my phone, which was playing a completely different tune.

I don't pick the songs from these play lists; I just find someone who has my tastes and listen to whatever music they find (I'm lazy. Sue me).

"_She does it like this, and you move it like that…. Shake, shake, shake…"  
_  
"Well, it isn't exactly my taste," I said, frowning as I folded my arms. "This person must've added this song recently. I don't remember-"

"You… do understand what that song is about-?"

I was completely clueless. "….Dancing?"

"Turn it off. _Now_."

"Why? It's kinda catch-"

"_Don't make me shoot it_."

"Turning it off."


	5. Unbreakable

**DAY FIVE, WORD FIVE: UNBREAKABLE**

* * *

"Yaay! Look at the rain!"

Garuru gave me a very interesting look. "Of all males, you are the first that I have ever heard squeal like…" His voice trailed off as he became lost in thought. "…Never mind."

"Oh, come on!" I said, grinning as I gestured to my open window. "Look at this! It's _raining!_ It hardly _ever _rains here!"

"Welcome to Arizona." Garuru stopped, his eyes dilating, and I stared at him in bewilderment. He then growled, irritated above irritation that I was visibly corrupting him with my stupidity.

I laughed, only to lessen into suppressing it when he shot me a death-promising warning glare. "I-I'm sorry. Shutting up now."

"I don't understand why you're laughing anyway; we're going outside."

That instantly took the smile off my face. "What?"

"It's not dry anymore," He explained gruffly, "I may now accompany you on the search."

"…Please tell me you're joking."

"On what basis would I be joking, Cadet?"

I shuddered, realizing the truth to his statement, but also _imagining _how cold it was going to be. "I-I can't."

"Excuse me?"

"I _can't_," I repeated, hugging myself. "I'll get sick; I can't afford to get sick! My classes are like two hours long, dude. I miss one day, in reality I miss two. And plus: economics! Can't miss economics! I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to put my foot down on this one."

"You gave me your word," Garuru said, his lips bending to an angry scowl. "And I am going to make sure you _keep to it._"

"I'm really sorry, but there is _no way_ I'm going to go searching in the freaking freezing rain for people I don't know!"

* * *

"I can't _believe _I'm searching in the freaking freezing rain for people I don't know."

"Don't whine. It's undignified."

I glared at him as I squeezed the hilt of my umbrella. "_You wanna know what _else _is undignified-?_"

"_Familiarity._"

"…Right," I mumbled. I slipped out my phone and winced when I saw the temperature. _Forty degrees. _It's about ten degrees colder than when I met Garuru, and I had really bundled up that day. When I sighed, I could see the warm fog of air coming from my mouth. "I seriously hope we find something, Garuru."

"As do I." Garuru said, folding his arms. "At least since I'm with you, the mission could now be more competent."

I groaned to myself. As nice as I was, as much of a _push over I was, _I still couldn't _believe_ I was letting him drag me to my doom of woe-be-gotten illness. I mean soon-be-gotten illness… not that it makes much of a difference.

All for a stupid, stupid promise that he refused to let me break, even under circumstances like these. _Dang. _I should make exceptions; hope he isn't good at loopholes...

I sneezed. _GLORY. _

Garuru turned his head to me. "Curse you."

This startled me. "_What_?"

"Curse you. Isn't that the Pekoponian custom, to respond when someone sneezes?"

"No, no, it's- _oh, what do I care._" I dug my hands deeper into my pockets. "So. Now that you're here… what do we do?"

Garuru drew a little closer to me, closer under the big umbrella. "We find my teammates. Although how… to be honest with you, I'm not sure."

"Great." I rubbed my temples. "Do you guys have anything to communicate with, at least?"

"It's broken," Garuru said slowly. "The only one who would no doubt be able to link with me no matter how broken my device is-" The small portable device in his hand began blinking rapidly, and I could just hear him hold his breath in alarm.

"What's going on?" I asked, glancing down at him. "Is it-" _Slosh. _"…Ugh." Great. Now my feet are wet. The decisions I had been given were either getting wet on the bike or being dry on foot. _Decisions, decisions._ Guess what I chose. You know what? _Whatever. _"Did you find something?"

"Yes," Garuru said, carefully avoiding the puddle of water I had clumsily stepped on. "He's around this area."

"One of your teammates?"

"Yes."

"Dude, that's awesome!"

"The heavier this flashes, the closer we are."

"…How does that work?"

"He designed it, not me."

I was about to ask who he was talking about when a car drove slowly past us, and I stopped in horror. Two scary thoughts flashed through my brain: one, the windshield would lower and someone would stare at us, and then call the F.B.I. (cue the Iron Giant). Or two, the windshield would lower and someone would throw a rabid cat at me (that's always been my fear. It's the most rational one I have).

To my shock and relief, however, the car kept going.

"What's wrong?" Garuru gazed up at me.

"Nothing," I murmured, looking over my shoulder in thought. "I just assumed that they would notice you."

"I'm invisible to the Pekoponian eye."

"Really?" I scrunched my nose and turned my attention to him. "Then how come I can see you?"

This seemed to surprise him as much as it did me. "You… can see me?"

"Yeah. Is that… normal?"

He took on a troubled expression and didn't answer my question. I rolled my eyes to the bottom of my umbrella and let them wander over to the gray skies. Some people think that cloudy days seem so boring and mean and sad-looking. Here in Arizona, they're the most beautiful colors painted on a constant-blue canvas. And the _smell_. It's glorious.

We live near a factory that just _adores _to spew out thick, black smoke into the sky. Don't even mention the farm of dairy cows a few miles away.

But the rain… it literally washes all that away and gives the earth a sweet, sweet fragrance of cleanliness. It smells like it should: _clean_. When the rain pours, you smell driblets of water splashing against your windowpane. When the rain stops, you could just breathe in every single natural thing in the air: the dirt, the flowers, the trees. Even the sky has a scent of its own, one that you just want to intake every single day and never get tired of it…

Sorry. Going off topic.

COWS.

"It's beeping faster," I observed.

"Yes. That means we're closer."

The flashes finally stopped once we were in front of a house, and as I looked about, I couldn't shake this sense of familiarity that this home gave off. Have I been here before?

"I believe this is the place," Garuru said, putting his device away. We just stood there for a good twenty seconds until he finally put a hand to his hip and stared up at me. "Well?"

"H-huh? Well what?"

"Aren't you going to ring the doorbell?"

I felt my whole face heat up. "Wh-wh-wh-_what?!_"

"Ring the doorbell."

"I-I can't do that!"

"Why not?" Garuru crossed his arms. "Is there something wrong?"

"O-of _course _there's something wrong! What the heck am I supposed to say?!"

"'We're looking for a Keronian- a distinct frog-like alien from a different planet' will suffice."

"_Please _tell me you're joking."

"Do I _look _like I'm laughing, Cadet?"

"No."

"Then _ring the frogging doorbell._"

I pouted in protest, but headed toward the door. _Please _don't be home. _Please _don't be home. _Please _don't be-

The door cracked open, and I think I felt my heart plunge into a sea of gooey intestines.

"Hello?"

"Hi. I'm from the Girl Scouts. Would you be interested in buying one of our many colorful selections of cookies today?"

I could just_ feel _Garuru slap his forehead several times with the palm of his hand.

"Oh, cookies! Yum! Sure, let me just go get my big sis."

…Wait. That voice…

"Hello?" The brown-eyed girl with the glasses opened it up wider. "Oh. Jimmy!"

"Um. Johnny."

"Johnny! Hi! ….You work for the girl scouts?"

"N-no, no! It's just-"

"…You have one too?"

I didn't expect this at all. "What?"

"He has a Keronian too?!" Rita cried out, hopping out from behind her older sister. "_Oh my gosh!_Sis, you know what this means?!"

"…I don't," I added timidly.

"Yeah you do!" She said excitedly. "It means that we're one frog closer to bringing the whole team together!"

"You can _see_ me-?" "You can _see_ him?"

"Yeah, we can, and we do," Kitty said softly. "Is that wrong?"

"Apparently he's invisible." I explained. I cupped my chin with my hand. "So far it's not working."

"_Familiarity,_" Garuru reminded me needlessly. He immediately jumped to the real situation at hand, though, like the level-headed guy that he is. "So you say you have the rest of my teammates?"

"Yeah, come in!" Rita said as she and her sister moved out of the way for us.

"Um…" I looked about uncomfortably. "You sure your parents will be fine with this?"

"Oh, it'll only be for a few minutes; besides, they're not here right now."

I nodded nervously and closed my umbrella, shaking off the droplets of water, folding it shut, and leaned it against the wall outside their door before I went in.

Garuru was already inside, gazing about in fascination at the girls' dorm.

"So… where are they-?"

"Lieutenant Garuru!"

A pale blue frog about the same size as Garuru ran up to him and saluted to him cheerfully. "Hi! How was life? This place is _awesome! _We watch movies and eat snacks and play games and-"

As his companion rambled on, this expression of bewilderment overtook Garuru's features. Strange, considering the emphasis he had on searching for his teammates. I almost expected a tearful reunion. Though with Garuru, I doubted that'll _ever _happen. "…Taruru?"

"Yeah! It's me!"

"You weren't expecting him?" I asked Garuru, taking off my jacket.

"No," Garuru said bluntly. Perhaps a little too bluntly, as that faltered the enormous smile Taruru was wearing. "I mean, I wasn't _expecting_ him exactly. Rather, I was expecting Tororo."

"Oh, Tororo? He's here too."

"Really." Garuru widened his eyes. "He's here too-?"

"FINALLY!" Another frog sobbed, falling to the purple 'Keronian's' feet. "OH THANK FROG YOU CAME TO REDEEM ME. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW IT'S LIKE WITH LIVING WITH- W-WITH THAT _THING?!_"

This frog alien was a little smaller than the other two, with a white face and salmon-pink skin. And… a tail. The others didn't have tails.

Well, as traumatized as this little guy was, not even he had the audacity to touch Garuru. The most interaction he had with Garuru was complaining on how much of a torture chamber it was living with Taruru while the defendant- Taruru- puckered up his lips and folded his arms behind his head as he listened.

"I didn't know you had found them," I said with a smile to the two girls. "Thanks."

"No problem!" Rita said dismissively, waving a hand. "To be honest, we've had them for a while now. Had you spoken up we would've definitely brought them together sooner!"

"I'm sorry," I chuckled weakly.

"So now what're we up against?" Rita asked her sister. "Three Keronians! Two more to go!"

"You two have been looking for them too?"

"Not really," Rita grinned.

Kitty spoke up. "We just figured that since this was a fanfic an' all, you guys will just come to us."

"W-what? Fanfic-?"

"_Shh!_" Rita planted her forefinger on her lips as she gave her sister a serious look. "No one else _knows!_"

"Oops, that's right," Kitty giggled. "Sorry. Didn't mean for me to say that out loud."

"…Okay…"

"Are we gonna come with you, Lieutenant?" Taruru was asking Garuru.

"AT LEAST TAKE ME!" Tororo pled. "_I BEG OF YOU_. OR IF YOU MUST, TAKE HIM AND SPARE ME!"

"They have good snacks here," Taruru pointed out.

"No way!" Tororo snapped, standing up. "The snacks are mine!"

"Then you can stay here, and I'll go with the Lieutenant."

"H-hold it," I stammered. I held up both hands in defense when the three frogs turned to stare at me. "I'm sorry, but n-neither of you can come with me. If anyone, just Garuru."

Garuru gave me strict, cold eyes- a demand for an explanation.

I sighed. "Listen, Garuru. I'm really sorry, but I can't have more aliens at my house. Not saying it isn't fun having you over, 'cuz it is. But be reasonable. I can barely hide _you _in my room. Now imagine two others?"

"Then I'll stay here," Garuru said coolly.

"No," The two girls said simultaneously. "No, you can't."

"And why not?"

The sisters shuffled their feet, licking their lips and moving back and forth.

"…Sis, that frog scares me…"

Kitty coughed and straightened. "W-we have enough trouble with these two." The mentioned Keronians protested, and she gazed at them in gentle apology. "We can't have another one over."

"Garuru, it just isn't reasonable," I cut in. "We can meet up someplace where all of you guys could find a way to go home, but it's just not possible for us to find shelter for all of you. We don't want you get caught."

"Meet someplace?" Garuru repeated. He mused at this particular aspect. "Where?"

"Like, I dunno. The park or something?"

"Like a club!" Rita said suddenly, her face beaming. All of gazed at her curiously. "We could start a _club. _And since it seems like we're the only one who could see the Keronians, we could have it somewhere public like… like a park!"

"Cadet has a park near his residence," Garuru said, nodding. "Yes. I believe that'll work."

"But the air is so dry," Tororo complained, sitting up and folding his arms.

"I'll bring water bottles," I offered. "I can buy a bunch of them at a local store. And I'll just bring them when we all meet up. That way, when you guys dry up, you just drink the water."

"Cool! I dig it!" Taruru said, giving me a thumbs up. "And we could bring snacks!"

"But not mine," Tororo piped. "My snacks are mine."

I looked at Rita questioningly, and she shrugged. "He likes his snacks. So we put it in here." She pulled out a metal bucket with apples, candies, soda, Hershey's, mini-cereal boxes, Twinkie-fakers, and practically the works inside it and a sticker in childish handwriting stating, "TORORO'S PROPERTY. TOUCH AND YOU DIE".

…He really does like his snacks.

"He leaves the apples, though," Taruru said, reaching inside the basket that Rita was holding. "So I eat them."

"I save them for last- _DON'T TOUCH MY PROPERTY!_"

"As interesting as this is, I'm afraid I'm going to have to go," I said truthfully, glancing at the clock by their fridge. "It's raining right now, and I'd really like to be at home."

"Sure, of course," Kitty said calmly. She looked down at Garuru. "Do you want a towel to cover yourself from the rain?"

"What?" I said, a little taken aback. "Why?"

"Don't you know?" Rita was taking a towel from a basket of laundry that was conveniently by the kitchen. "Frogs are cold-blooded. They get really cold really easily- especially if it's water."

...That actually made sense. I wondered why he kept close to me under my umbrella.

"Who told you this?" Garuru inquired sharply, fists clenching in alarm.

"Uh… hehe…." Taruru grinned widely. "…Oops…?"

"He's a moron," Tororo breathed, planting a hand onto his face. "I _told _him not to say anything…"

Garuru turned away. "…It's fine. But…" His eyes wandered to me. "…Nothing. Never mind. Just keep yourselves out of danger."

"We will, Lieutenant!" Taruru promised, saluting whom I was guessing at his superior.

"Here's the towel," Rita folded it up and gave it to him, to which he accepted.

"I don't think that's possible with _him _around," Tororo mumbled, crossing his arms. Suddenly, his pupils dilated and face paled as realization dawned on him. "W-wait. You're leaving me _HERE? _With _HIM?! _A-_GAIN?!_"

"Sorry," I gave him shy look and stepped outside, taking the umbrella from off the wall.

"Thanks for dropping by," Rita said with a smile. She leaned against the doorpost. "So we'll see you again?"

"Yeah, definitely," I promised.

"Oh, wait," Kitty called out. "What street is the park on?"

"Royale Rd."

"Okay. When can we start the first meeting?"

"Um… how about this Friday?"

"Sounds like a date," Rita said cheerfully. She was about to close the door when the smaller frog came out one last time, clinging on to her legs as if clinging on for deal life as he struggled for one more last-ditch effort.

"Don't leave me here!" Tororo begged. "_PLEASE! _I don't think I could _survive _another day with- with _him!_"

"Good luck," Garuru said, throwing the towel over his head.

We both heard the poor guy sob his laments as the door closed behind us.

"That's funny," I told Garuru, chuckling a little. "Though I do feel bad for him. 'Good luck'. Didn't know you had a sense of humor, though."

"Funny? I was being _serious_."

* * *

**...Worst chapter _ever._ I'm so sorry. It was rushed and very poorly written... but I suppose that's what practice is for. Let's just hope that writing everyday will help my sense of pace. *facepalmage* I'm so, so sorry. **

**Also, I was wrong about Rita's and Kitty's hair colors, the idiot I am. Rita has brown hair, and Kitty has black. Sorry, just wanted to point it out.**


	6. Obsession

**DAY SIX, WORD SIX: OBSESSION**

* * *

"_I blame you_."

"I apologize, but it couldn't wait."

I coughed heavily and bundled myself with the blankets. "Sure, yeah, okay, _sure._"

"If we didn't go outside, we wouldn't have found my teammates."

"Sure," I said, the very essence of a _voice _clawing callously at my throat. I could only say about one sentence at a time before cringing or scratching my chest.

So instead of talking, I'll entertain myself by narrating. Needless to say, I didn't go to school. I wanted to, but my parents flat-out refused. _If only I had kept in that one cough_…

"What are these?"

I glanced to the side, and was downright horrified when I saw that he was looking at the many notebooks and journals lying about. My face reddened. "Don't look at that!_" _I stopped to cough.

"These are interesting," He murmured, flipping through the pages. He gazed up at my paintings, and then at my book. "So you draw." He flipped a page. "And write."

"_Please _give it back…"

"They're colorful."

"Thank you." I cleared my throat. "Now _give them back_."

What a nosy alien.

"The voices were quiet in the small sleeping home… unnoticed, they wanted, for no one to know…"

"Garuru!"

"What does this mean?"

"_Give that back._"

"I've already looked through these; there's no reason for you to be worried. They're… interesting. And colorful."

I just wanted to run into a ditch and die.

"I believe this poem," Garuru gestured at the page he was looking at. "has a story behind it."

"A very _personal_ story." My face was just getting hotter and hotter, and it definitely was _not _the fever. "Now give back."

"The voices were quiet, there was no joy in that… just the sadness and sorrow-"

I reached over and snatched it from him and threw it under my pillow.

Garuru folded his arms. "Cadet…"

"S-stop it, please?" I murmured, covering my face with one hand. This poem was really… something confidential, something I never, ever want to remember or ever go through again. "This is a story I'd really rather not… get into."

Garuru was silent for a while. "…I'm sorry."

"No, it's…" I paused. Did he just say 'sorry'? "What?"

"I didn't mean to delve into your personal business. I apologize."

"It's… okay."

Garuru leaned against my bed and sighed deeply. "The more I observe you, the more I see a bit of… my brother in you."

"What?"

"Don't misunderstand me," Garuru said strictly. "He's much braver and more capable of a soldier than you'llever be."

How marvelously blunt. "…Ha… thanks anyway, I guess.."

"But you're both… emotive," Garuru said, twisting his mouth into a straight line. "You let your emotions rule your behavior, your actions. Though, the massive difference is that he's learned how to use them to his advantage; youhaven't."

Now doesn't this speech sound familiar.

"I don't want to hear this talk again, please."

"Ah, so you've heard it before?"

"Yeah, I've heard it before," I muttered bitterly, my face heating up again. "And I don't want to hear it again."

Garuru looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "…Alright." His face contained something of a calculating expression, however, as he gazed thoughtfully at me. "Alright." He folded his arms. "Something I've also noticed is that you like to play with your hair."

"…I didn't know that frogs _had _hair."

"We don't," Garuru assured me. "When you think hard about something, you pull at your hair and play with it. Twist it around and tug strand by strand."

"I've been told that before also, _thanks_." Actually made fun of for it, not that I'd ever let _him _know.

"My brother has an obsession with cleaning his guns when he thinks hard about something as well-"

"I do _not _have an obsession!" I retorted. Oops. I turned away from him and coughed heavily into my sleeve. "I-it's a _quirk_."

Garuru smirked. "That's what he said when I pointed it out."

"Enough about me since I can't _talk_," I said quickly, clearing my throat. "Talk about you for once, _Lieutenant_."

It seemed that he was about to ask why I had learned his position (guess he really was in the army after all; explains the guns, at least), but stopped, no doubt remembering his other two teammates from yesterday. I suppose that he wanted to keep the majority of their species' information secret, but never thought to bring it up to his teammates before they crashed.

Huh. If his brother is anything like me, I guess that the Stupidity Disease was infecting him much earlier than I originally thought it was.

…No offense to his brother. *ahem*

"I don't believe I have an obsession with anything."

"That's what everyone says," I said with a short chuckle/cough.

"…Cadet."

"Yeah?"

"If I ever reveal…" His voice drifted off. "…Never mind."

"I will."

"Hm?"

"I know what you meant; I will."

He nodded, lost in thought.

"Hey, Lieutenant?"

"Yes?"

"Are you fun?"

Garuru perked a brow. "I beg your pardon?"

"Are you fun?"

Garuru ran a tongue through his lips. "I still don't understand your question."

"Like, do you laugh at all?"

He just stared at me. "Occasionally."

"When was the last time you laughed?"

Garuru opened his mouth to answer, then closed it. He bent his left arm inward and rested his right elbow against it, his right hand rubbing his chin.

"What, you don't remember?"

"….That answer is classified."

I tried to imagine Garuru laughing. I couldn't see it. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't see it either. "Um, okay." Oh, wait. "Hey, do you like riddles?"

"Most."

"Cool," I smiled. "I have one."

"Let me hear it."

"A woman goes to her sister's wedding. There she meets the man she loves. A month later, she kills her sister. Why?"

Garuru closed his eyes and meditated on these words.

To be honest, I don't think he'll get it. The reason why is because this question is given to serial killers by psychologists; 9/10 of them get them right. Why? Because if you hear this riddle, the average inclination would be, "She was in love with her sister's husband". A _serial killer _has a different thought process; they think different. The real answer is-

"She wanted to see the man again at her sister's funeral."

I could feel my face grow cold just by staring at him.

"Did I get it right?"

"Y-yeah," I said with a weak grin. "Y-you got it right."

"It's an interesting riddle," He mused. "It… Cadet?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Your face is pale. Would you like to rest?"

"N-no! I'm f-fine," I stammered. "A-absolutely fine." I looked out my window and realized something. "Hey, Lieutenant?"

"Yes?"

"It's not that dry out- since it rained yesterday and all. Why don't you go see your 'teammates'?"

Garuru nodded slowly. "I think I'll do that."

"You could take the towel back too."

"Mm. I'll do that."

* * *

I think I must've fallen asleep or something, because this darkness receded as soon as someone closed the window. I yawned and rubbed my palm against my eye.  
"Oh. Hi."

Garuru struggled to close the rusty window, grunting as he pushed.

"Need help?"

"I'm-*_ugh_*- _fine._"

I was about to get out of my bed when he finally closed it shut.

"It's easier opening this than closing it…" He muttered.

"Yeah, that's true," I agreed, settling myself back in my blanket. "So, what happened?"

"I had my device fixed.

"Cool. Um, hey, can I ask you something?"

"Yes."

"Doesn't the, um. "Device" have a name?"

Garuru made a face. "It's too intricate. Tororo has a habit of trying to outdo…. Someone."

"Oh, that's…" I hesitated. "Cute, I guess. Rivalry?"

"A very strong one."

I chuckled. "Okay." All was quiet… again. Cue the dancing circus bears. "What happened?"

"I just told you."

"No, I meant… the whole story." I leaned against my pillows. "Dude, this is getting kinda _boring_. If this was a sitcom or something, they would change the channel."

"…And a sitcom would be…?"

"Just tell me from the beginning."

Garuru sighed.

* * *

This is what you could call the "Nick Carraway narration". It's going to be a narration I'll be adopting. This is ideally told from my point of view, but similar in "The Great Gatsby" (if you haven't read that book you'll read it eventually; YOU'VE BEEN WARNED), the narrator is Tom Carraway, with the main character being Gatsby. As other characters tell their story, he would continue narrating on and on and on and _I'll shut up now_.

…Wait, did I just break the fourth wall?

* * *

"Oh, sis!" Rita beamed. "The purple frog is back!"

"…My name is _Garuru_…"

"It's Garuru!"

"Hey, welcome back," Kitty said with a small smile. "Come in."

"Tororo is not-?"

"Oh, no, he got over it," Rita assured him cheerfully. She gazed up at the ceiling as her face took on a quizzical air. "Although I _did _notice he his whole bucket of treats a lot sooner than usual…"

"Heya Lieutenant!" Taruru spoke up cheerfully, saluting. "Are ya hear to play?"

Garuru gave him a mild glare.

Taruru grinned. "Okay, okay, I'm joking. So! What's up?"

"Would you have Tororo fix this for me, please?"

"Sure!" Taruru saluted one more time and grabbed the mini device from his superior's hand.

Garuru winced as soon as he heard a "_GARURU'S HERE?!"_ from the room down the hallway.

"Like we had spoken yesterday, I will not take you with me," Garuru told the "tadpole" coolly, much to the dismay of the younger frog.

"Then… then can you at least switch me?"

Garuru didn't exactly tell me this, but I could imagine his face twisting into a "you're-joking-right?" look, and then softening it into an "everyone-has-got-to-make-sacrifices" countenance (this made me laugh, which earned me a puzzled look from the Lieutenant).

"It's no trouble keeping these two here?" Garuru asked the girls politely.

"No, no trouble," Kitty said gently. "It keeps our lives very… lively."

"I would understand if you needed them to…"

"It's _fine,_" Rita jumped in, giggling. "I seriously wouldn't mind keeping them for the rest of my life, for all I care! _Well… maybe _not Taruru…"

"_I heard that!_"

"I said _Taruru_!"

"Oh. Carry on then."

"That won't be necessary," Garuru told Rita, somewhat firmly. "As much as I appreciate your warm invitation, I'm afraid that it won't be necessary."

"So how long are we stayin', Lieutenant?" Taruru asked, flumping over the sofa to look at him.

"As long as we need to, but no more."

"And when is that?"

"I am not sure."

"Works for me anyway!" Taruru puckered his lips. "Though I wish I knew where Master lives so that I could see him!" He blinked. "Hey, Rita?"

"Yeah?" The young girl responded.

"Where's Tokyo from here?"

The two sisters stared at him.

"…Tokyo?" Kitty repeated, slowly.

"Yeah!"

"Um, we're not in Japan, silly," Rita chuckled. "We're in the U.S."

"We're a bit too far from Japan," Kitty added softly.

"Well, _duh,_" Tororo said, using a knife from the kitchen to screw a… well, screwy-thingy. "You would've known that much if you had studied Pekopon like you were supposed to!"

"I had better things to do."

"Like stalk Tamama though Facebook?"

"A student must always be aware of their Master's everyday occurrences!"

Garuru sighed heavily ('It's true,' he had told me on the side, 'it seems that Pekopon has a very intoxicating air that makes Keronians lazier than they're accustomed to being.' I could feel another story edging on this one, but as the most organized person/alien I've ever known, he decided to continue on this story instead).

"Do you want some hot chocolate?" Kitty asked.

"No, I'm fine."

"Sure?"

"I am sure, yes."

"I'll have some!" Taruru and Tororo cried out, raising their hands.

Garuru rubbed his forehead. "How is the device, Tororo?"

"You mean-?"

"Don't you _dare _repeat the name."

"I like the name!" Taruru said, puckering his lips. "I think it's funny!"

"_Funny?!_"

Garuru coughed. "Go on, Tororo."

Tororo huffed in irritation as he continued, "It's not bad. I just need to fix the modem. My and Taruru's didn't get broken from the crash, and if I had to guess, Pururu's and Zoruru's probably didn't either. It'll beep when you get close to them."

"Did you guys get to look today?" Rita asked.

"Cadet's sick."

Rita and Kitty shared surprised glances. "What?"

"Cadet became ill by traveling in the rain." Garuru was silent. He cleared his throat. "He's fine, though."

"Oh, poor Johnny," Kitty murmured.

"He's fine," Garuru reassured her. "Just a bit of a head cold."

"Here ya go, Lieutenant," Tororo said, closing the back of the mysteriously-named device.

"Thank you. I'll be on my way now."

"So, you aren't taking me back?" Tororo asked hopelessly.

"I'm afraid not, Tororo," Garuru affirmed. He saluted to the younger Keronians and made his way to the door.

"Um, Garuru?" Rita called.

"Yes?"

"Tell Johnny he feels better, okay?"

"By both of us." Kitty nodded.

"I will."

* * *

"That's sweet," I said with a smile. "Tell them I said thanks."

"…I am not doing that right now."

"…Right. Sorry."

Garuru released another ball of air.

"So…" I said, biting my bottom lip, bidding my restful sleep goodbye. "…Wanna play Clue?"

* * *

**...Another horribly written chapter. But hey, what can I do? *shrug* This story is to improve my writing, and GOSHDARN I AM GOING TO IMPROVE. **

**Please stand by for the exploding bag of cheeseballs. **

_***Pop***_


	7. Eternity- a Needless Chapter Name

**Goal: Less dialogue, more humor, less about me (Let's hope I accomplish it).**

**DAY SEVEN, WORD SEVEN: ETERNITY  
**

* * *

The air was apparently very dry again, and the delicious smell of the air was gone, to my great disappointment. Ah, well. I got better, anyway.

I worked around the same area as two days ago, when Garuru and I discovered that Rita and Kitty had his two teammates in their house.

The cold air stung my face, though, when I glided into the shadows. Garuru's device, which he had let me borrow, was dead-silent, a dark gray color in contrast to the bright rapid blinking it gave when Garuru used it.

A dog chased me. What do I look like, a mailman?

I was just really glad that I didn't bring my own little dog with me.

I let the bike flow into the opposite street, the one that was by Royale Rd's park. Sunnyside of the area; the bright light warmed my skin, the wind didn't bit me as bad.

Farther and farther I go.

"Johnny!"

I stopped my bike as soon as the familiar racetrack girl stood in front of my way. Well, more like skidded. My bike I mean.

"Ruby?" I asked, blinking. I placed a foot on the floor for balance and gently balanced my bike against it. "What's up?" I gave a playful grin. "Are you bored again?"

"No," She said, somewhat sternly. She pointed at the device. "What is that?"

"H-huh? O-oh. It's. Um. A walky-talky?"

"Do you have a frog alien too?"

I stared at her in bewilderment. "W-what did you just say?"

"I said, 'do you have a frog alien'?" Ruby crossed her arms. "'Cuz I have one too."

I couldn't believe it. "Are you playing with me?"

"I'm not," She said. She gestured at Garuru's device again. "The Keronian that lives with me- she also has one of those." She grabbed my arm, her eyes sparkling. "C'mon! I'll show you."

"W-w-what?!"

"Don't you want to see her?"

"L-let me go for a couple seconds," I said quickly. I jumped off my bike and composed myself. "What does she look like?" Unless I'm mistaken, her name was something like Pururu, right?

"She's… this really light purple," Ruby attempted. "Um… with really big dark purple eyes. And a pink hat."

What a… very cute alien. At least, she sounds it. Totally unlike my completely grumpy un-cute alien. Life's so cruel.

"Are you coming or not?"

"I-I'm coming, I'm coming!"

She ran to her house (and, of course, beat me there) as I followed her, walking with my bicycle trailing beside me.

"C'mon slowpoke!"

"I'm coming!" I sped up my pace.

"You can come in," Ruby said, opening the door. "My parents won't mind."

How very kind of her to answer a question that I didn't even… _wait. _

…Never mind, moving on.

"Come up here," She said sweetly, pointing up the stairs. "She's in my room."

"So does Garuru," I smiled. "I-I mean, he stays in my room too."

"Pururu!" Ruby called out, opening the door. "You can come out! It's just someone who might know where your friends are!"

Pururu peeped out from behind her bed, her eyes widening slightly when she saw me.

She had a white face- like Tororo did. Was Giroro a kid too?

…Wait, wait, wait. Garuru. Giroro. Tororo. Pururu. Taruru. Whatever that other guy's name was. Was it just me, or were all their names some sort of pattern?

"Who are you?" Pururu asked politely, creeping out from her hiding place. "U-um. I'm Pururu. It's very nice to meet you." She bowed.

Such hospitality! I felt embarrassed. "U-um, I'm Johnny. The pleasure is mine." I nodded to her, not sure whether or not bowing from a guy would be some sort of insult where she came from (Garuru, Tororo, and Taruru never did that when I met them; can't blame me for assuming).

"Johnny," Pururu said cheerfully. "So, Ruby said that you know where the others are?"

"U-uh, actually yeah! Yeah, I do. Well, three of them."

"Three?" Pururu beamed. "Oh, thank you! I really appreciate it!"

"Although they're not together," I said, hoping that that wouldn't get her upset. To my relief, it didn't. "They're more or less separated. Tororo and Taruru are together, though. They're with these two other girls- Rita and Kitty."

"And… Garuru?" Pururu inquired, albeit a bit hesitantly. "Did you find him, or Zoruru?"

"Garuru lives with me."

"Oh," Pururu said pleasantly. "And how is he?"

"He's really good… I think." I thought for a bit. "…Is it normal that he's a bit-?"

"Distant? Oh yes." She nodded. "He tends to be a little like that."

A little?

_Understatement_. "Um. Okay."

"He might warm up to you if he likes you though," Pururu said sweetly. She smiled brightly. "That's our leader for you!"

"Wow, you're so optimistic," I said, a little taken aback. "It's actually making me feel really good. No wonder Garuru speaks so fondly of you!"

"Does he?" Pururu blinked at me. Her white face took on a complete red color. "D-d-d-does he _really?"_

"Oh yeah," I grinned. "He said you were a valuable asset to the team."

Her hands made their way to her cheeks as she continued to blush.

…I'm probably still a little sick or something, because I think I saw little hearts begin to float from her scalp to the air. Popping sounds, too.

"Aww," Ruby giggled.

"'Aww' what?"

"Don't you see it?" Ruby asked, gesturing to Pururu.

I felt stupid. "What?"

"Never mind," She said with a mild sigh. "I'm sorry, you're a guy. I forget that sometimes you don't understand."

"….Understand what?"

"You just proved my point."

"…I did?"

"Yeah, you did." She shook her head teasingly.

"Pururu?" I waved my hand toward her face, and immediately stopped the overproduction of the cutesy pink heart bubbles. "You okay there?"

"O-oh? Y-yes, I am," Pururu smiled weakly. "Um. Ahem. Right. So-?"

"All of us are going to meet up on Friday," I told her. "I'm planning on bringing water bottles so that you guys don't dry up, too."

"Thank you!" Pururu clasped her hands together. "I appreciate it."

My phone began to ring. "Ah, speak of the devil." I pointed at it before I answered. "Hello?"

"Did you find anything?"

I couldn't hide the smile from my voice. "Yup."

"Really."

"Yeah. I'm not _so_incompetent that I can't find anyone!"

Garuru grunted. "So?"

"I found Pururu."

"…Really."

"Yeah. Want to talk to her?"

I could hear Pururu hold her breath.

"No, it's fine," Garuru said dismissively. "Very, very good job, Cadet. I commend you for your hard work. Signing off."

He hung up before I had a chance to say bye. _Hm. _

"Sorry, Pururu," Ruby pouted, crossing her arms.

"It's alright!" Pururu said tightly, turning to a corner.

….Okay, I swear there's got to be something wrong with me. The whole room just turned dark and a spotlight that came out of _nowhere _shone on Pururu as she leaned one hand against the wall.

…Was the world trying to highlight her untold misery?

"Don't lose hope, Pururu," Ruby said encouragingly. "Didn't you say that Garuru was _always _like this?"

"Yes, you're right…" Pururu sighed.

"…Should I believe? I-I mean leave?" I squeaked, feeling very, very awkward and extremely out of place. "Girl chat. Not good at girl chat. I think I should go."

"Okay," Ruby stood up. "I'll be back, Pururu."

"Take your time…"

"What happened?" I asked after Ruby closed the door behind her.

Ruby grinned mysteriously at me, as if she knew something I didn't.

The knowledge of women.

Why isn't there any emphasis on the knowledge of _men _these days_? _

….

If you know what's good for you, do _not _answer that question.

"Do you want another race before you go continue your search?" Ruby inquired.

"No, I'm fine," I chuckled. "I just want to get to Garuru."

She shrugged. "Okay… but if you ever want to redeem yourself…"

"I know where to go," I nodded and picked up my bike. Just before she closed the door, I called out, "Wait!" She stopped midway. "We're meeting at the park by Royale Rd. Bring Pururu along too, okay?"

"Okay! I will!"

* * *

My phone buzzed in my pocket when I was about three minutes away from my house. I plucked it out, looked at the caller I.D. Stella.

Okay, maybe I should give something of a back story… You see, I'm a bit of a baby duck. I kind of attach myself to one person for a whole year and practically follow them around until the next year tumbles around. For the first year, it was Mario. Second, it was Stella. This year it's Penelope, Stella's friend.

Pfft, I don't complain, to be honest. I just wanted someone to hang around during lunch.

I answered the phone. "Hey!"

"Hi! How are you?"

"Good. And yourself?"

"I'm okay. So when did you want me to come over?"

"…Come over?"

"Oh, that's right!" She laughed nervously. "You weren't _here _yesterday. Well, we have a project to do at Mrs. Miller's class. She partnered me up with you."

"What kind of project?"

"It's for 'Tess of the D'Ourbevilles'."

"Oh, right. The book." I made a face. _Speaking of the knowledge of women… _

"We're doing a project on themes; do you have an idea?"

"Hm. Okay, how about how the author distinguishes the scenery between the pastoral life and the city life? We could make a little project or something."

"I was… actually thinking about drawing for it…"

"I know," I assured her. "You could. But what I was thinking is like… a box. We could take two things and use them in comparison to each other. Let's find something that could represent the city, and make it look kind of cold-looking and ugly. And for the pastoral, we could have a cute doll or something with flower patterns and stuff. Do you have anything like that?"

It was quiet on the other line.

"…Stella-?"

"Yeah! I have something for two of those things. But can I still draw something?"

Stella _loves _drawing- and she's really, really talented too. "Of course! We could have a huge box with the two… I dunno… toys, I guess… and in the background, you could draw the actual characters from the book that compares the two scenes."

"Oh!" Stella piped up. "You mean like Alec for the city? Oh! We could dress up the doll as Alec!"

I chuckled. "That sounds really cute. And maybe we could have the other doll dressed up as Tess, for Pastoral."

"That sounds so cool! Okay. So when can I come over to start on the project?"

"…When's the project due?"

"Next Monday."

"Yeesh."

Stella laughed. "That's why I wanted to come over okay. But it's fine if I can't."

"Well…" I rubbed my neck. "How about tomorrow?"

"Okay."

"Hey, Stella? How much of the stuff do you have anyway?"

Stella pondered at this. "Um… I can bring a box. Oh! And bring one of the dolls."

"Tess?"

"No, I have something for Alec."

"Oh, really."

"Yup. Do you think you have something in your garage for Tess?"

"Sure." My sister has a lot of old dolls from the golden years… before the day she decided to use them as weapons of mass destruction. "I'll see if I could find something."

"Cool! And I think I have some fabrics to make some clothes; I'll ask Jessie and Penelope to see if they could help."

"Okay. Well, I'll see you… tomorrow. Okay?"

"Okay. Bye!"

My friend's coming over tomorrow. No doubt to work on a project…. _in my room. _

Fate, _why oh why do you hate me so?!_

* * *

Garuru was playing cards with himself.

I actually felt a little bad for him.

"Hey, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Cadet?"

"We're going to have a bit of a problem." I sat down on my bed and sighed heavily. "A friend of mine is coming over."

"And why is that a problem?"

"You, for one thing…"

"_Familiarity._"

"I'm being serious!" I said, a little too forcefully. "U-um. I-I'm sorry. But I am. Stella needs to come over for a project, and… well…"

"I understand," Garuru nodded stiffly. "However. I will need somewhere else to hide."

"I do have a big walk-in closet. I'll just close the door and leave the light on."

Garuru neatly stacked the cards on top of each other and rested them on my furniture. "And how long will that be?"

"About… two hours. At the most. Probably."

Garuru folded his arms. "…Alright."

"Good. Thank you." I bunched up the thick brown blanket that was just there on my bed and folded up neatly. "Hey. We still haven't really shared much about ourselves, you know."

"Maybe there's a reason."

"Okay, okay. Um. Let's see…" I looked up thoughtfully. "It doesn't have to be really serious… just something to make us laugh."

"…Go on."

"When I was little, I taped my feet with duct tape because I thought I could run up the walls."

Garuru stared at me.

"…It didn't work."

He rolled his eyes slightly.

"C'mon! That has to count!" I protested.

"It didn't make me laugh."

"And tell me, ol' chap… _what does _make you laugh?!"

"Familiarity."

"Right, right, I'm sorry," I mumbled. "And what about your friends?"

"Teammates."

"_Teammates_."

"And what about them?"

"Tell me something about them?"

Garuru looked at the ceiling and rested a bent finger against his mouth.

* * *

-_Cue flashback; yet another Nick Carraway narration-_

"Someone took them."

Garuru and Pururu glanced up from their plans.

"Someone took what?" Taruru asked innocently.

Tororo narrowed his eyes in irritation. "_You _took them, didn't you?"

"I seriously don't know what you're talking about!" Taruru said, raising his hands up defensively.

"You _say _that," Tororo snapped, "But I know you took them!"

"Took what exactly, Tororo?" Pururu asked gently.

"Whoever took them knows _exactly _what they are!"

Garuru, Pururu, Taruru, and Zoruru all looked at each other.

"I think you should start from the beginning," Garuru said, as calmly as he could muster.

Tororo let out a breathy sigh. "_Alright. _See, y'know how Pekopon _really _makes some good mochi? You know, those dumplings with the really yummy fillings?"

"I… guess?" Zoruru said from the ceiling, his eye slightly bent upward.

"_Well, _I ordered some specifically for _me._"

"Go on…" Garuru prodded.

"They came in _five different flavors! _They were still frozen, so I left them on the counter to thaw… and _now they're all gone!_"

"_Devastating,_" Zoruru said, rolling his eyes.

"We have to figure out _who stole my mochi!_"

"It is indeed a case," Garuru said. "Whoever took Tororo's mochi, speak up."

No one said a word.

"…Very well," Garuru said, frowning. "Did anyone at least see them on the counter?"

"I did!" Taruru said, waving his arm in the air while puckering his lips. "I saw them!"

"I KNEW IT!" Tororo cried out, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "YOU DID EAT ALL MY MOCHI!"

"I _didn't _eat your mochi!" Taruru said with a huff. "I simply _saw _them. I didn't eat them all." His face softened into a thoughtful look. "Though… I did see _Pururu _go in after I did…"

"_So it was the old hag,_" Tororo seethed, glaring at Pururu. "So _you _stole my mochi!"

"I did _not… _did you say old hag?" Pururu's eyes widened in horror. "_Did he just call me an old hag?!"_She pulled out a mirror from her back and proceeded to examine her face for any wrinkles, rubbing her face obsessively.

"Pururu," Garuru said, putting a hand on her back. "Did you see anyone in the kitchen after you?"

"…Well…" Pururu tapped the mirror against her bottom lip. "…You know, I _did _see Zoruru after I did…"

"SO IT WAS YOU!"

"_What?!_"

Garuru, Pururu, and Taruru winced as Zoruru crashed to the floor. He jumped to his feet, waving his arms in front of himself. "I didn't steal _anything!_"

"Then who done it?!" Tororo stuck out his lower lip and stared him down, despite being shorter than the cybernetic ninja. "_Who done the deed?_"

"And who was after you, Zoruru?" Garuru inquired.

"…Um…" Zoruru closed his eyes in thought. "…Actually… it was _you, _Lieutenant."

"L-Lieutenant…" Tororo stammered, staring at his leader in horror. "I… I never thought…" He clenched his fists. "So it was _you_."

"Don't be ridiculous, New Recruit," Garuru growled.

"Who could've possibly eaten Tororo's mochi?" Pururu asked, forgetting about her face for a moment.

Taruru spoke up. "Have you noticed that all our names end with 'ruru' except for Tororo?"

"Thank you for the enlightenment," Zoruru said crisply.

"Wait," Tororo snapped his fingers. "That reminds me!" He ran toward the kitchen, where the rest of the rest of the team followed. Tororo ran his fingers toward one of the corners on the ceiling and pressed the end. "A-_ha. _I _knew _I had hidden a security camera here!"

He slipped out a tiny disk and ran to his room before coming back and setting his laptop on the table. "Now we see who the culprit _is!_"

The team held their breath.

|On the screen, Tororo is looking over his mochi joyfully, touching them and shivering slightly at the frozen shells.

"_Well… maybe just one bite_." He grabs a frozen bun and bites into it. "_Wow, this tastes great even cold! Hm… I still wanna try them when they're thawed out…" _

You see him walk out, and there is silence afterward.|

"...I thought you said someone ate _all _your mochi," Pururu said.

"Th-they're _all _mine!" Tororo protested, shaking a fist. "Besides, we're looking for the _other _culprits! Not the one who actually bought the thing!"

"It's true," Garuru said gruffly. "Let's just finish the tape."

For a good five minutes nothing happens, and Tororo quickly hastens the video, to where Taruru is seen on the screen.

|"_Ooh! Mochi!" _Taruru says cheerfully. "_Don't mind if I do!_" He takes one and eats it. _"Mmm!_"|

The team looked down at Taruru, who grinned bashfully. "What? I told you I didn't eat them _all… B-besides! _I was hungry! Look! Here comes Pururu!"

The Garuru Platoon (slip of the tongue, Garuru disregarded it later) gazed back at the screen, where Taruru was waving to Pururu.

|Pururu looks at the mochi. _"Wow! That looks good!_" She coyly looks both sides, and gracefully takes a mochi and eats it. |

"So you _did _eat my mochi!" Tororo pouted.

"I swear, I only ate one!" Pururu defended herself. "L-look! It's Zoruru!"

|Pururu is now patting her lips with a napkin. Zoruru slips in and salutes Pururu as she leaves. The robot-assassin gazes over at the mochi. "_Hm, these must be Tororo's…_" He taps his chin. "_One shouldn't hurt." _He picks it up with one knife-like finger and… the screen fizzes out a little. Then Zoruru is complimenting the taste of the unfamiliar dessert.|

"Zoruru!" Tororo shook his head. "_Tsk, tsk._"

"It was only _one_," Zoruru huffed, folding his arms. "And it was _delicious._"

"_OOH YOU._"

"So do we understand what happened here?" Garuru asked, planting his hands on his hips. "Everyone was involved in the 'crime', but no one was willing to admit it. I hope we all learned a valuable lesson here-"

"Wait, Lieutenant…" Taruru stared hard at the screen. "Isn't that _you _also eating one of the mochi?"

Garuru was silent. He quickly pulled out the disk and threw it in the air. Within two seconds, he summoned a weapon and shot it twice, snapping it in half.

The whole platoon stared at him.

"No, it wasn't."

"Wellll..." Taruru drawled, poking out his lips once more. "Nothing lasts forever, right, Tororo?"

"One of these days I'm_ really_ gonna do you guys _good..."_


	8. Gateway

**(Goal: Less about myself, more humor, more Garuru Platoon)**

**DAY EIGHT, WORD EIGHT: GATEWAY  
**

* * *

"What's that smell?"

"Huh?" I glanced at the plate of warm, steaming cookies from my bed. "Oh. Cookies. Fresh from the oven. Why, do you want some?"

"…Who baked those?" Garuru asked.

"Um… I did?"

This earned me a very surprised look from the leader of the Garuru Platoon.

"What?"

"…You… baked those?"

"Yeah…" I cocked a brow. "Why?"

Garuru looked like he was about to say something, but he lost interest. "There's no reason."

I looked out my window and nodded. "Okay, Lieutenant. You're going to have to go in the closet soon. My friend's here."

* * *

"Hi, Johnny!" Stella said at the door, as cheerful as ever. She looked completely overwhelmed by the box and her large, lumpy backpack that had been slung over her shoulder.

She's taller than me (shocker) with short, curled black hair, large, hyper brown eyes, and glasses that sat on the bridge of her nose. Generally a very happy person, who was not afraid to be herself, something that I, who's normally insecure about the stupidest things, really admired.

"You need help with that?" I inquired, helping her take the cardboard.

"Yeah, thanks." She gazed about. "So! Where do we work? Your room?"

"Sure. I made some cookies."

"Yum!"

I looked about her. "Hey, where's the doll?"

"Oh, it's in my bag," Stella explained. "I couldn't carry it and the box, so I just put it in my bag."

Sounds reasonable.

"I also brought paper and markers to draw," She said, plopping the bag on my bed. "And some old clothes for the dolls."

"Wow," I muttered. "You have everything."

"You can still help."

"I was going to help anyway, Stella!" I laughed. I looked at the backpack and poked at it, stopping only when I felt something… sharp. "Hey, what's in this thing?"

"Huh?"

"What's… what's in here?" I tugged at the zipper. "Mind if I open it?"

"No, go ahead!"

I think I just wanted to die from horror then and there.

A robotic-ninja thing was in her bag, motionless, its head slumped against its chest.

"W-w… Stella? W-where did you find this…?"

"Isn't it cool?!" She cried out, pulling it out of the bag. "I found it on my roof. What are the odds, huh? I can't _believe _someone would want to throw away such a cool toy!"

To be honest with you, too many things were going through my mind as I saw the Keronian lying deathly still on my bed. _Too many things_.

I just kind of backed into the closet and pushed open the door, and whispered something to Garuru.

He immediately rushed from his hiding place and looked at Zoruru, startling Stella, and climbed on the bed to examine him.

"He's still alive," Garuru assured me, tilting his friend's head to the side to peer at some scratches at the metal. "He has a heartbeat. Something is probably wrong with the cybernetic portion of his body."

"Does it… work that way?"

"If half of you isn't working, it's not viable that you'll be able to interact normally."

"So basically he's in a coma?"

"Correct."

"W-what's going on here?" Stella stammered. "W-why do you also…?"

Oh yeah. Forgot she was here. "Oh, boy," I rubbed my neck with my hands. "I could've definitely handled that better." I set Stella down on the bed. "Um. Have a seat." I looked to the side, and set the platter on her lap. "Have a cookie."

"Johnny… what's going on?"

"That's Garuru," I said, gesturing at the alien that was still observing his friend for anymore vital signals. "Um. Yeah. Uh… they crashed… _here_…. And… um… we're… trying to get he and his team back together to go back home." I pointed at the comatose frog behind her. "You just found the last one."

"Aliens?" She blinked at me. A huge smile stretched on her face. "_Aliens_?! That is so _cool!_"

Haha… I should've known better than to get worried about Stella.

"Yup," I said, more than relieved. I gazed at Garuru. "Is there anything we could do about… that guy?"

"Zoruru," Garuru said, sliding off the bed. "His name is Zoruru."

"And here I thought he was just a toy!" Stella chirped. She looked at the assortment of moustaches that she brought with her and sighed. "I guess we're going to have to look for another doll."

"Is there anyway you can bring him to Tororo, Cadet?" Garuru folded his arms.

"Sure. I'd be more than happy to." I leaned down to pick up the cyborg but was shocked by… well, shock. "Ow. Okay, okay, I got him." I pulled Zoruru into my arms, but stopped when I reached the door. "Um… what do I do if anyone-?"

"Say he's a toy," Stella suggested. "He definitely looks like one. And if your parents ask, I'll just say you went to return it to a neighbor."

* * *

"Oh my gosh, you found another one!" Rita cried out. Her grin faded when she realized that no movement came from the ninja. "…What's… wrong with him?"

"What happened?" Kitty asked, her eyes widening. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine," I assured them. "I just want to talk to Tororo."

"I'll get him," Rita said, running down the hallway.

Their conversation was as followed:

"Tororo!"

"What?"

"Johnny's here!"

"_So?_"

"He needs you."

"…_Can't it wait?"_

"Um, I think it's important."

_SIGH_. "Fine."

Tororo's eyes were drooping as he came into the room, his motions sluggish and his steps slow, but he straightened as soon as he saw his teammate in my arms. "_Holy dog!_"

"I believe it's 'cow'," Taruru said, popping out from behind the sofa.

"_I know my English, Taruru._"

Taruru shrugged nonchalantly, and retained that lax attitude until he noticed Zoruru. "…Holy _cow_. What happened?"

"To be honest, I don't know," I said truthfully, setting Zoruru down on the couch. "Garuru said he's fine, but he wanted Tororo to check up on him and see if he could wake him up."

Tororo sighed and shook his head, leaving to get something from Rita's room.

When he came back, he brought a laptop and he dropped it right next to his teammate. "Okay, Zoruru…" He murmured, plugging the ninja to his computer with a rubber chord. "This might sting a bit…" His fingers danced against the keyboard, _clicking _and _clacking _the letters as he stared at the screen.

A huge surge of electricity crackled through the rubber chord, bunching up into a ball that got bigger and bigger as it made its way to the cyborg.

The energy finally enveloped Zoruru, and he woke up, screaming in pain.

"Ouch," I winced. "That'sgot to hurt."

"_What do you think?!"  
_  
I didn't think it was possible to slice air- the whisk of sharp, metallic knives crept up to my face, the points barely touching the flesh on my throat.

"Geez, cool it, Zoruru!" Taruru said, though a little too scared to really interject. "This guy brings you all the way here and _this _is how you repay him?"

"No kidding," Tororo said, snapping his laptop shut. "And did _I _get a thank you? Nope."

"_Who are you_?" Zoruru seethed.

I was beginning to regret waking him up. "I-I'm J-Johnny."  
He squinted his eye; a black eye with a glowing red iris. He ran his finger up to my cheek, making a white mark with his trail before he released me.

"Where am I, pipsqueak?" Zoruru snapped.

Tororo rolled his eyes. "C'mon, _grandpa. _You've been asleep for who knows how long! _So _you got a little shocked, _big deal_."

"You didn't answer my question."

"We're in the United States of America. The land of the Hugging Tortoise."

"Bald eagle," Taruru said pointedly, grinning when Tororo turned to glare at him.

"_Anyway_," Tororo continued, "We crashed, and we're just kind of staying with the Pekoponians until we can get our ship fixed."

"And how long will that take?" Zoruru asked, folding his… arms.

"Who knows?" Taruru shrugged. A look of realization dawned on his face, and he gazed up at me. "Um, Johnny?"

"Yeah?"

"Where's Zoruru gonna stay?"

"O-oh." I hadn't thought of that. "I… um. I don't know."

"Simple," Zoruru said crisply. "I don't need a Pekoponian's home to be well taken care of-"

"That's not the thing, Zoruru," Tororo said with a small huff. "You didn't really get to feel the air outside, did you?"

"What _about _the air?"

"It's as dry as a desert!" Taruru said, a little too joyfully. He rested his cheeks on his hands as he leaned his elbows against the sofa. "Yup-yup! You're gonna need _a lot _of water to make it out there!"

"Garuru could handle it."

"Um… Garuru is staying at my place," I added quietly.

"_What_?" Zoruru retorted. "Our leader in the hands of this weakling? Is this some sort of joke? Because I'm not laughing."

"It's not that he _wanted _to," I said, a little hurt. "He really didn't have any options."

"Don't take him too personal," Tororo told me. "He gets _really _annoying and moody when someone wakes him up too early from his sleep."

"I do not," Zoruru muttered.

"Do you want some water?" Kitty offered, giving him a glass with the liquid inside it.

He seemed reluctant to really accept anything from us _measly humans_, but I guess thirst won over pride. He took it with his organic hand and drank.

…I wonder how something like that would taste through bandages?

Zoruru threw the glass to Rita, who hastily caught it before it hit the ground. She gave him something of a cross look before she went to put the cup in the sink.

"Should I just take you back, then?" I asked him, slowly.

"Where's Garuru?"

"At _his _place," Tororo said impatiently, sticking his thumb in my direction. "Like we've been _telling_you."

Zoruru stared at me, letting his glowing black/red eye pierce through my brown ones, scrutinizing my pitiful presence.

"Very well," Zoruru said. "Go on."

"O-oh, um. Okay." I turned to Rita and Kitty and smiled an apology. "I'm sorry. B-but thank you for letting me in."

"No problem!" Rita insisted. "Anytime."

"Take a water bottle," Kitty said, handing it over to Zoruru. The robot bluntly refused, so she gave it to me instead. "Just in case."

"Okay," I said. "Thanks."

* * *

Zoruru downed the whole water bottle about halfway down the street to my house.

I had the weirdest urge to burst out, '_I told you so!', _but _maybe _irritating a creepy frog version of Edward Scissorhands was a bad idea.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Zoruru asked sourly, peering at me with mild distaste.

"S-sorry."

"Good. Now _stop it._"

"Sorry."

"_Stop apologizing._"

"S-… okay."

I opened the front door, carefully letting him in before closing it again.

I winced, never realizing how noisy it was when he moved. I felt like asking him to be quiet, but I was afraid that he would try to slit my throat again and mince me up for meat pie.

…Sorry. Too many Tim Burton movies.

"You're okay!" Stella cried out, jumping to her feet. Paper, pencils, pens, and markers littered the floor in preparation for her doubtlessly flawless art. "So what happened?"

Zoruru scoffed in annoyance, and I shook my head behind him, waving my hands at the same time.

Stella got the picture and decided not to prod further.

"We got a problem, Lieutenant," I said, looking around. "Hey. Where's Garuru?"

"I'm here," Garuru grunted from behind my bed.

"What are you doing?" I questioned, walking over to where he was.

"Nothing."

"Oh." I couldn't hide the smile that had spread on my face. "You could've asked for help, you know." I leaned down and helped him tug his belt from the edge of my bed, where it had gotten caught.

"What's the problem?" Garuru folded his arms, refusing to admit to this latest embarrassment.

"Zoruru," I said, pulling his white belt loose. "He needs a place to stay."

"He can stay with me!" Stella said, peering from the opposite side of the bed. "He can stay in my room."

"_No._" Zoruru growled.

"I would accept it," Garuru said, inspecting his belt for any stretch marks. "Cadet has no room in his own house, the air has proved too dry for us to live comfortably, and to be truthful, discretion is advised." He pulled his belt over his head and ran it to his chest. "Certain Pekoponians tend to… overreact to our presence."

"Is that an understatement?"

"Very much so, yes."

Zoruru sighed, irritated in his defeat. "…_Fine. _I will accept your… _hospitality._"

"Great!" Stella piped. "I don't mind."

He was quiet for a dull moment, and in that time I had kneeled down to help my friend with the project. He cleared his throat. "Boy."

"My name's Johnny," I said. "If you don't like 'Johnny', you can call me Cadet like the Lieutenant does."

"Very well, Cadet. I just want you to answer a question for me."

"I'm a _guy_."

"Yes, I'm sure I made that clear," Zoruru said, rolling his eyes. "I just wanted to ask if you had found Pururu."

"Pururu?"

"Yes."

I nodded. "Yeah. Found her yesterday, actually."

Zoruru blinked and turned to the side, lost in thought. "…Good."

"She was acting kind of weird, though," I mused. "Hm. I'll ask Ruby about it on Friday."

Stella nodded absentmindedly, sketching lightly on the sheet of paper.

"Oh, that's right." I poked on shoulder. "All of us are meeting up at the park down here on Friday. I would appreciate it if you could come with Zoruru."

"I can make it on my own, thank you."

"Ignore him," I whispered in her ear. "Apparently he's cranky."

"I am _not._"

* * *

"Do you want me to leave it here?"

"Sure. I'll be back Friday, okay? We could work on it then."

"Good idea."

Stella gazed at Zoruru curiously. "Should I put you in my bag?"

He rolled his eyes and activated something on his hat, to which he flickered slightly, but other than that nothing really happened.

I'm going to assume he… turned invisible?

"I'll follow you," Zoruru said, staring up at her. "You may go now."

"Okay! Bye Johnny!" Stella leaned over and squeezed me.

"Bye," I squeaked, backing away as she ran down the hallway to the stairs. "Lock the door for me, okay?"

"Okay! Bye! See you tomorrow!"

Garuru watched me in fascination as I closed the door to my room. I didn't really notice until a little later, when the air became heavy with silence. "…What?"

"…That interaction…"

"She hugs everybody, Lieutenant." I decided to change the subject before I began talking about my social relationships with a creature from outer space. "Um. How about another story?"

"Surprise me."

I thought deeply for one. "Okay… how's this… when I was in my sophomore year, the guys at my table began singing Spanish songs and making some… I'll be honest… _annoying _noise."

"Go on."

"Well, I guess at one point they were feeling pretty bad, because I was trying to read a book. So they asked me, 'are we disturbing you?'. I didn't want them to feel bad, so I said with a smile, 'no, it's okay! I'm surrounded by idiots everyday.'."

Garuru's lips twitched slightly. _Darn. _So close. "Better than yesterday."

"Am I going to ever make you laugh?" I mumbled, folding my arms.

"I doubt it."

"Yeah, me too." I picked up the scraps of the project from the floor and threw them away. "Okay. Now it's your turn, Lieutenant."

* * *

_-Flashback; cue Tom Carraway narration again (I will be doing this often; get used to it)-_

"Guys!" Taruru shouted, running into the main room with an old, long piece of sand paper. "Guys, guys, _guys!_"

"_What?" _Zoruru snapped.

"Let's play hide an' seek!"

"…Hide and seek?" Tororo repeated, making a face. "What's that?"

"Indeed," Garuru said. "Clarify, First Class Private Taruru."

"You don't know what hide and seek is, Lieutenant?" Pururu said, giving her superior a look.

"I'm actually not that surprised," Taruru said with a grin. "Though, I'm surprised Tororo doesn't know about it. Like, how old are you?"

Tororo pouted. "I'm _special_. I had better things to do then play with kids of my own age group."

"So, instead you hacked into the Keronian military base?" Zoruru asked dryly.

"Yeah, it was great."

"Do you know what it is, Zoruru?" Taruru inquired, gazing up at the upside down ninja.

"Of _course _I know what it is," Zoruru said, folding his arms. "I was a kid once too, you know."

"A long, long, long, long, _long time ago…_"

"_Shut it, Taruru_."

"It's a game," Pururu explained to Garuru, who just blinked at his team in utter confusion. "Someone counts down to, um… twenty, I suppose… and then everyone else hides. The person who counted down, also known as 'It', looks for the missing players. The first one caught is the next 'It', and the last person is the winner."

Garuru twisted his mouth. "It seems like a child's game…"

"It is," Pururu blushed. "I-I'm sorry. It seemed like a fun idea." She giggled nervously.

"_What?_ No one wants to play?" Taruru looked about his comrades and puffed out his cheeks. "But- but- but _Lieutenant! _We could all use a break from training and whatnot!"

"I believe that everyone has a different form of relaxation, Private."

"Y-yeah, but… but…" Taruru suddenly beamed and slapped his fist into an open palm. "I got it! What if we can associate this game with training?"

Tororo and Zoruru shared a glance.

"And how so, Private?" Garuru requested, resting his hand on his hip.

"Like… I _don't know_." Taruru stuck out his lower lip as he concentrated. "Like… hide and go seek could be associated with… a scenario if we ever had to hide!"

"Weaklings hide," Zoruru muttered.

"_Really_?" Taruru folded his arms. "I may be an idiot, but I'm not a-! Wait. Err, the point is, it would be considered suicide to simply _march on _if we were critically wounded. Right, Lieutenant?"

Garuru thought about it. "…I suppose…"

"_Especially _if you happened to be one of the greatest fighters, and the only chance for Keron," Taruru continued, building up the imagery.

"…I see," Garuru tilted his head slightly. "And what scenario exactly do you have in mind?"

"Like… evil ghost lobster zombies from the planet Zhoola?"

The platoon just stared at him.

"…_Oh, come on! Work with me here!_" Taruru pouted.

"…All right."

"What?" Pururu, Zoruru, and Tororo said in unison, turning toward their leader in absolute bewilderment.

"It seems like an interesting exercise," Garuru said with a firm nod. "Let's try it."

"But…" Tororo tried weakly.

"I'm It!" Taruru cried out, waving his hand in the air eagerly. "I'm going to find _all of you!_"

"This is so stupid," Tororo said under his breath.

"Oh, cheer up, Tororo," Pururu said sweetly, gently pinching his cheek. "This'll be a fun experience for everyone! Especially for someone who's never played it before."

"…_Alright,_" The tadpole shrugged. "I… _guess _I'll try it out…"

"You seem excited," Zoruru told her.

"I am!"

"I'm not surprised," Tororo said with a smirk. "It's probably a sad attempt to preserve her youth."

Pururu's mouth dropped. "W-w-_what?!_"

"I'm counting to twenty now!" Taruru shouted. He turned and covered his eyes with both his hands. "Twenty! Nineteen! Eighteen!"

The foursome separated, Zoruru dragging Pururu as she mumbled about how she was _not _old and that she was a perfectly _young _age and that she _wasn't admitting that she was wearing make up to cover up her wrinkles… _oops.

"Pururu, snap out of it!" Zoruru shook her gently. "If Taruru catches you, he'll never let you live it down!"

Pururu shook her head and morphed her expression to a thoughtful one. "True."

"I'm going to let you go now," Zoruru saluted her. "Good luck." He disappeared.

The purple Keronian wandered about, realizing that she had more than enough time when she heard Taruru count ("Ten! Purple! Cow! Truck! Eleven! Sixenteen!"). She didn't want to admit it, but she was _distressfully _good at playing this game… well… when she wasn't playing with Keroro or Dororo (now _they _were good).

She was in the kitchen examining the pantry for any room when she heard the familiar voice yell out, "Okay! That's enough counting for now! Ready or not, here I come!"

Pururu squeaked and looked desperately for a spot to hide. Oh. The little cabinets at the bottom, the intricately designed ones that were supposed to look like gates when you pulled them.

"I wonder where everyone went to~"

"No option," Pururu murmured, opening the tiny door and slipping inside. It was so tiny, she had to crouch in and sit down, almost into a little ball. Discomfort was the _least _of his worries, however...

…Because she immediately found herself reddening when she realized that Garuru was _right in front of her. _

"Pururu-?"

"Sh!"

They heard hesitant footprints step through the kitchen.

Something opened, and Tororo's voice was heard, complaining about cheaters and all that good stuff. They supposed that he had been found.

A few seconds later, the noises receded; no doubt the two Keronians had left the kitchen.

Pururu held her breath, trying to control the heavy drum inside her chest (Garuru heard it too; he told me he assumed it was because they were almost caught).

"Garuru?" Pururu whispered. "What's wrong with your cheek?"

"A little scratch," Garuru said dismissively, pushing open the door slightly to take a peek outside.

"Did you get it from squeezing in here?"

Garuru shrugged. "A soldier gets hurt in battle all the time. I can truly say I can't compare it to anything I've ever really faced before. Hm?" He watched Pururu fiddle with a tiny bag. "What are you-?"

"A band-aid never hurt anyone!" Pururu said softly, smiling. "Here. Let me put it on your cheek."

"It's fine; I don't need it."

"You never know. I, however, am the nurse. Don't forget that."

"Very well. I suppose you do know what's best."

Pururu grinned victoriously and peeled the band-aid's wrappers off, leaning toward him to apply the medical aid. The bottom of the cabinet, however, was made of stainless steel.

Stainless steel is _very _slippery.

Pururu squeaked as she fell against his chest.

"I-I'm sorry-"

"_Sh._" Garuru gently held her head against it.

She blushed heavily, her face warm against his skin. "L-Lieutenant-?!"

"_Sh_," Garuru repeated. "I hear Taruru. I don't want to give away our position."

"…_Oh._" Pururu said, frowning and slumping slightly. "Okay." She was quiet for a moment, closing her eyes.

"You may now get off me-"

"You have a lovely heartbeat, Lieutenant."

Garuru blinked at her. "…Thank you, I suppose…?"

"A-_ha!_" Taruru cried out victoriously, opening the gate-like doors of the cabinet. "I found…!…. _Oh." _He gave them _the look_, making Pururu turn even redder, and Garuru tilt his head in confusion. "I'm _sorry_," Taruru said with a mischievous grin. "…Was I interfering in something?"

"We're killed!" Pururu giggled anxiously. She pulled herself off him and coughed slightly, composing herself as she normally would. "I apologize, Lieutenant."

"No, it was an interesting experience."

Pururu looked up at him, her eyes dilating, her cheeks turning pink.

"Thank you for the exercise, Private," Garuru was continuing, not to Pururu, but to Taruru.

Pururu had turned around and slammed her head several times against the cabinet's door.

"You guys didn't lose, don't worry," Taruru said with a nod. "I found Tororo first. So he's next!"

"It's fine. We may continue this stimulation another time."

"You stupid cheater!" Tororo snapped, waving his clenched fist in the air. "You knew where I was the _whole time!_"

"Yeah, but it's not because I cheated," Taruru said with a whistle, folding his arms behind his head. "It's because it was kind of obvious."

"What do you mean 'kind of obvious'?!"

"Tororo. You hid in the _refrigerator. _It wasn't a hard guess."

"W-well, that was fun!" Pururu stuttered, half-mentally stable due to the self-inflicting blows to the head. "I hope we get to do this again soon!"

Yeah," Taruru nodded. He paused when he felt this nagging thought nibble in the back of his brain. "Gee, though… I can't help but wonder if we forgot about something…"

No one remembered to find Zoruru that day.

* * *

**Ehh, I guess I'm proud of this one XD I think everyone should look forward to the endings of these chapters now; they're going to a bit of a habit. If it's not a funny story about the platoon, it'll be a funny story about each individual one (which may also involve their human partners) or a bit of a back story...  
Also, the Platoon is so hard! Now you can see why I saved Zoruru for last. I imagined him kind of snarky and a little meaner than Garuru. Maybe even a bit "racist" toward Pekoponians. I don't know. I need to watch more episodes with them.  
And don't forget! Like I mentioned before, you can still submit a character, though they won't be the main cast, like Johnny, Rita, Kitty, Ruby, or Stella. They'll still have a part in the story, and if they're popular enough I'll write more about them. **


	9. Frost

**(Goal: Less about me, more Garuru Platoon, more Comedy)**

**DAY NINE, WORD NINE: FROST  
**

* * *

"Man, it's getting warmer," I muttered, shedding my gray jacket.

"I don't feel the difference."

I made a face. "Well, that's because you're _inside _most of the time… it doesn't count."

"I suppose…"

"And also, the sun is coming up a lot sooner than it usually does," I nodded at my window. "Yup. Another short winter."

Garuru gazed at me curiously.

"Um, you see," I tapped my chin. "Here in Arizona, it's always bright, sunny, hot, and dry." I looked outside. "Or at least it almost always is."

"I can see that," Garuru said blandly.

"But it's really nice when it's cool," I pointed out. "Not too cold, not too hot. It's just perfect."

"Mmhm."

"You know, we might go camping."

Garuru perked a brow. "That was a bit… random?"

"I-I meant because it's so nice outside," I explained. "And I might take you with me. I-if you want."

Garuru gave me a reluctant look, and I sighed.

"It won't be so dry," I said. "We'll be up in the mountains; it'll actually be really nice and misty. You might enjoy yourself."

"I don't enjoy myself."

"Are you just afraid of the bugs?"

Garuru glared at me.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I chuckled nervously, holding up my hands in surrender. "But seriously. It's really nice, Lieutenant. I think you'll like it."

He grunted in response.

All was silent. I'm not sure whether or not he was thinking about it, but I learned from experience not to pester people about making decisions. They'll just end up getting irritated.

"Hey, Lieutenant."

"Yes?"

"I'm… too sexy for my shirt~ Too sexy for my shirt, so sexy it _hurts~_"

Garuru stared at me for the longest time, and I groaned in protest.

"C'_mon! _That was comedy gold right there!" I examined him. "Are you part robot or something? Because I honestly don't know why that didn't make you laugh!"

"You're getting too familiar with me, Cadet." Garuru said with a warning glare.

I smiled at him. "Sorry, but I really want to hear you laugh. It's seriously killing me. It's killing me so hard it _hurts_."

Garuru summoned a rifle. _Click, click._ "Would you like me to end your misery?"

"_No!_" I cried out, shielding myself with my arms. "_No! _I'm sorry, I take it back!"

Garuru shook his head and dissipated the weapon. "You should know by now not to test me, Cadet."

"Right," I slumped my shoulders. "It's just… I d'know, Lieutenant… can you blame me for trying to be friendly?"

"I would appreciate it more if you respected my personal space."

I puffed out my cheeks. "Fine." I looked up at my lamp/fan. "Yo. What do you say about visiting the others?"

"Like…?"

"How about Pururu? You haven't seen her yet." I slumped my body across the bed. "She seemed genuinely concerned about you."

"We can meet her tomorrow, yes?"

"…Well, yeah, but still," I shrugged. "Doesn't hurt, right?"

"…I suppose."

* * *

"Hi, Johnny!" Ruby said welcomingly. She gasped in utter delight as soon as she saw Garuru. "Hi! What's your name?"

"This is Garuru," I said, taking the liberty to introduce him. "This is Ruby, Lieutenant; the girl that's taking care of Pururu."

Garuru nodded absently. "Yes. Thank you."

"Oh, the pleasure's mine," Ruby replied sweetly. "Did you guys want to come in?"

"Yes please… If it isn't too much trouble, of course." I said, scratching the back of my head.

"No, it's not. You guys can come in." She opened the door wider and let us through, closing it when we were inside. "Okay, you know where to go, right Johnny? Okay, I'm going to get us a treat."

"N-no, it's fine," I stammered, blushing. Gosh, I hate feeling like such a burden.

"It's okay!" Ruby assured me. "I was getting something for me and Pururu anyway."

"L-Lieutenant!" Pururu blinked in surprise, and immediately bowed. "Hi! I wasn't expecting you!"

"Cadet suggested that I come to visit," Garuru said bluntly, gazing at me. "Though if you don't want me here-"

"No! I-I mean, yes! It's fine," Pururu smiled. She added, "It's a pleasant surprise, having you here. I don't mind at all."

Ruby put a platter of cookies on the desk near her door and turned toward me. "Want one?"

"No, I'm okay," I said, waving my hand dismissively.

"So, how are the lovebirds?" Ruby asked softly, giggling.

"Huh? Lovebirds?"

"You still don't see it?" Ruby folded her arms.

"…Um… see what?"

Ruby chuckled and patted my shoulder. "Never mind."

I always feel so ridiculously dumb when I visit- but I'm definitely sure that's probably not what she intended. She's a nice girl, just teasing. Except I'm a bit slow to jokes like that.

"So it's tomorrow, right?" Ruby inquired.

"Hm? Oh, yeah," I nodded. "I'm bringing water. To be honest, I don't know what to do with them."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" I waved my arms in explanation, but I got a blank nothing. "Ha… I-I meant… um… I guess the whole purpose is to bring the team together. What are we  
going to do after that? We can't really help them repair their ship."

"I don't see why we can't," Ruby said mildly, leaning against her wall. "I'd definitely be willing to help."

"O-oh, yeah, me too," I agreed hastily. "I don't mean that I don't want to… it's just… I don't know; what could someone like me do?"

"Well, you're a guy," Ruby said gently. "I'm sure you can do something. Like heavy-lifting. I'm sure you could help out; don't be so hard on yourself."

I smiled. "You're sweet."

"Thanks." She stretched. "So! Anything new happen?"

"Oh yeah," I nodded. "I found Zoruru."

"…Zoruru?" Ruby gazed at me, confused. "…Who?"

"He's the half-cybernetic Keronian," I clarified. "He's…" I hesitated. "…an interesting guy."

"Huh," Ruby said. She pulled herself off the wall. "Cool. I can't wait to meet all of them!"

"It'll be strange seeing everyone together," I said with a nod. "Yeah, I wonder what they'll do."

"Probably organize a plan to invade earth," Ruby mused.

"W-_what_?!"

"I'm kidding!" Ruby giggled. "I'm kidding."

We were quiet for a moment, watching each other. After realizing that none of us had anything interesting to say, we decided to bend the awkward situation into a pretzel and instead listen to Garuru's and Pururu's conversation.

"…And he was 'deactivated', you say?" Pururu murmured quizzically. "That's odd. It's never really happened before, has it?"

Garuru shook his head and sighed. "I don't believe so. He has told us, however, that his cybernetic side was seemingly beginning to wane, correct?"

"That's true," Pururu said, troubled. "I really hope he isn't keeping anything from us."

"I think he just needs an upgrade," Garuru said slowly. "He might be offended at the suggestion, but I sincerely think that it will help."

"And I'll make sure Tororo doesn't play any pranks on him. Again." Pururu sat on Ruby's bed, gazing out the window. "…Hey, Lieutenant?"

"Yes?"

"Did… erm… never mind."

"Is that all, Chief Medic?"

Pururu let out a sad sigh and nodded. "Yes. It was a pleasure having you over, Lieutenant."

Garuru saluted to his companion and walked over to me. "We may go now."

"Okay," I said, waving to the two girls. "I'll see you guys tomorrow then!"

"I'll show you out the door again," Ruby offered, walking up to me. I saw Pururu down about four cookies, nibbling on the last one with a look of despair.

…She must really not like that cookie.

* * *

Garuru drank four cups of water when we got back home.

"Another story?"

"…You aren't going to sing that song again-?"

"I'll try not to." I leaned back against my chair and thought deeply once again. "Umm…. Okay…. I'm bringing _sexy back_-... I'm sexy and I know it?" I laughed when Garuru made another face. "What? It's a different song! Two different songs! …Alright, alright. "Uh… When I was really little, I would call every drink, even milk, water, you name it- 'Apple juice', only I said, 'Appatuse' because of my sad inability to say a name right. Once, I was playing with a neighbor- a little boy. The little boy went up to my mom and said, '…Ma'am? Your little girl is calling me a _bad name_.' Turns out that I had told him, 'Appatuse', which rhymed with something that was a curse word aaaaand that didn't make you laugh." I sighed. "Just ignore the monotone 'nothing will make me laugh/do I ever laugh/ blah and skip to your story. Yours are always the funny ones."

* * *

It was the first time in a long time Garuru had ever seen snow.

The Platoon were on a gueit mission- protect the Keron Military base in the planet Abushnin from enemy infiltration. It was sweet and peaceful, but very dull and too silent.

On one particular day, Tororo sighed in irritation. "My internet connection is cut off."

"Read a book," Zoruru said from the ceiling. "It wouldn't hurt that techno-obsessive brain of yours."

Tororo huffed. "Reading's boring."

"Depends on what kind of book it is," Taruru said, sitting down on the floor with his own reading material.

"...What _kind _of books do you read?" Zoruru asked slowly.

"All kinds of books, Zoruru. _All kinds._"

"Look!" Pururu cried out joyfully, interrupting yet another awkward conversation. "Headquarters sent us rations!"

"Oh, boy!" Taruru piped, jumping to his feet. "What'd they get us?"

"Hot cocoa!" Pururu answered, pulling the said item from the box. "I'll make some right now."

"Mmm!" Tororo licked his lips. "I could use some hot cocoa!"

Garuru was gazing out the window with his binoculars, inspecting the area. The storm outside was getting stronger; they could hear the winds howling and the hail slapping the walls. Frost began to cover the glass, rendering the Lieutenant helpless against any sort of surveilance.

"Zoruru?" Pururu called up, waving her hand down toward her. "Would you like some hot chocolate?"

Zoruru glanced down at her and quietly looked back up to where he was originally staring. "…No thank you."

"Oh, c'mon!" Pururu prodded. "I already made it! Wouldn't hurt to drink it."

Zoruru glanced at her again before he zipped right next to her, startling her. "…I suppose I should… wouldn't want to waste it…"

Pururu smiled sweetly and handed him the warm mug. "Be careful! Don't get-"

"_Y'ow!_"

"…burnt." She giggled at this and treated him quickly. "I have to go- I have other drinks boiling right now. Okay? Tell me how it is."

While she skipped off to retrieve the fourth cup of hot chocolate, Taruru smirked at Zoruru.

"What do you think _you're _looking at?" Zoruru growled, his tongue magically better.

This seemed to confirm whatever thoughts Taruru had. "_Zoruru and Pururu sitting in a tree~"_

"Don't _make _me throw this at your face."

"Hot chocolate, Lieutenant?" Pururu offered, holding out the liquid.

Garuru shook his head. "No, thank you."

"Lieutenant… I would really appreciate it if you drank it," Pururu looked at him shyly. "I put some vitamins in it for you… it'll help you keep your stamina."

"Then I accept. Thank you."

Garuru put it down beside him and went back to his window, trying to swipe the glass clear with his hand. To his annoyance, the fog quickly came back and recovered the area on the said glass. Pururu made a little happy face on the corner.

"Don't worry about it, Lieutenant," Pururu said gently. "I doubt anyone would get through this blizzard."

"I…I suppose… But I feel it necessary to continue the watch," Garuru put down his binoculars and reached for the cup. "I can't put you in danger- I must protect you. All of you."

Pururu gazed up at him, swallowing nervously, her eyes full of gratitude.

"D'_Awwww! You're so kind, Lieutenant!" _Taruru gushed, throwing an arm around his superior, who quickly grabbed the mug with two hands to keep it from splashing.

"I would appreciate it if you released me. _NOW._"

"Okie, okie," Taruru grinned widely. "Sorry. I'm just so happy for you two!"

"…Which two?" Garuru inquired, confused.

"Um... you and... never mind," Taruru said, giving up.

Pururu sighed quietly. "I'll make myself some hot cocoa."

"Thank you," Garuru said, holding his mug. He gazed at Taruru, who was frowning and watching him closely. "Yes...?"

"Are you doing that on purpose?"

"...Am I doing waht on purpose?"

"You're clueless!" Taruru cried out suddenly, flinging his arms in the air. "Honestly, Lieutenant! I respect you and all, but sometimes I _swear _you're denser than a rock!"

('I didn't understand what he meant by that,' Garuru told me. 'And judging by your similar clueless look I will assume you don't understand either. Moving on.')

The hot drink was delicious. He had put the empty mug on the side and resumed his searching (while failing miserably) as the others tried desperately to entertain themselves.

Taruru with his... _books,_ Pururu cooking with what little rations they had, Tororo attempting to recalibrate his internet connection, and Zoruru doing who knows what who knows where.

"Lieutenant," Taruru whined lazily. "Can we play a game or something?"

"What do you have in mind?" Pururu asked, tasting the soup she was making with a spoon.

"_No hide and seek_," Zoruru warned, irritated.

"Alright, alright," Taruru stroked his chin in thought. "Oh! Karaoke!"

"No." Tororo and Zoruru replied blandly.

"I'd rather not be bored, thank you," Taruru said, putting two hands on his hips.

"And I'd rather not make a fool of myself," Zoruru retorted.

"Oh yeah?" Taruru turned to him. "And what would _you _rather do right now?"

"Do you really want to know?" Zoruru asked, widening his eye and tilting his head. "Because I have several fun ideas... and most of them involve disemboweling you."

Taruru seemed to honestly think about this for a second. "...Nah, too violent for our general audiences."

"Audiences?"

"_You actually considered it?!_"

"Let's play 'Who Am I?'!" Taruru decided randomly. "Okay... who am I?" He sat down and bent forward, twisting his mouth to a deranged grin as he moved his fingers up and down in quick moments. He seemed to emit an evil aura.

"Oh! Oh!" Tororo said, waving his hand. "Is it Kururu?"

"No, I was you," Taruru said, stopping his role playing. "But perhaps I was a bit too diabolical.."

"_I'll show you diabolical!"_ Tororo snapped, lunging at him. Taruru simply laughed and playfully held him back, relishing in the glories of being full grown. Or as full grown as a chimpanzee can be. While wearing glasses. And singing "Sweet Home Alabama".

Pururu was laughing. "He did act a lot like you, though, Tororo."

"Oh _really_?" Tororo shot back, forgetting his fight with Taruru. "Guess who _I _am!" He grabbed a mirror that had been sitting idly on the floor and began to look into it, patting his cheeks possessively.

"Pururu!" Taruru laughed.

"H-hey...!" Pururu looked around for something to call revenge upon. "A-_ha!_" She pulled out a banana from her rations box. "And who am I?"

Everyone (besides Garuru, of course, who was amused enough just by listening to them) stared at her.

"..._Who_ is that?" Zoruru finally asked, joining in their group.

"U-um, it's Taruru," Pururu explained, fidgeting with the fruit. "B-because he's... um... bananas?"

"...Worst. Joke. _Ever._" Tororo slapped his forehead. "_C'mon, _old lady! Were jokes really that bad in your day?"

"O-old lady...? _In my day?!" _

"Who am I, guys?" Zoruru attempted. He stood still, stone-faced, until he finally kneeled down and made some sort of invisible weapon lean against his shoulder.

"Ohh!" Pururu giggled, temporarily forgetting her dilemna. "It's Garuru."

The Lieutenant now turned upon hearing his name. Zoruru flushed, stood, and immediately saluted.

"...You may proceed with your stimulation," Garuru said dismissively, turning back to the window. "I do not mind."

Zoruru was too embarrassed to continue further. "Th-thank you..."

"Hey! My internet's back again!" Tororo piped happily, sitting down and typing on his computer. "And... oh." He clenched his fist. "_He _sent me something..."

"I wouldn't open it if I were you~" Taruru sang, settling down with his book.

"Psht. Can't be that- _OH MY FROG."_ Tororo covered his eyes. "_TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF I BEG OF YOU._"

"What did he-" Pururu gasped and slammed down the laptop, her face visibly pale. "O-oh dear."

"Hate to say I told ya so~" Taruru said.

* * *

"What was it?" I asked, too curious to hold back.

Garuru shrugged. "To be honest with you, I don't know. They refused to let me see."

"Was it bad?"

"Apparently so. Involved a purple dinosaur."

* * *

**Okay, not my best... again. *facepalm* I'll come up with something, don't worry.**

**Alright, so far, I've been concentrating on Garuru. I need to come up with the others' memories and stories and all that blah. Of course, it would be nice to include some stories concerning the human partners, too.**

**Pekoponian Partners Rita, Kitty, Ruby, and Stella (though maybe not Stella; I see her at school): I would appreciate it if you could come up with some ideas with the Keronians, and I'll incorporate it in. It'll not only help me with ideas concerning this story, but it'll help me grasp your "character" better.  
They don't have to be funny! They can be sweet, touching, sad, and you can even add some quirks to your partner if you want to, all that good stuff.**

**Like I mentioned before, I'm not here to make friends (maybe it would be best not to point out personal issues, please? ^^;), but I would still appreciate it if you could help me out. Thank you!**


	10. Opportunities

**DAY TEN, WORD TEN: OPPORTUNITIES**

* * *

_We met one stormy night!_

That movie was incredible.

Anyway, going back on the subject of storms… it was stormy today. Nice and cloudy again, dark too.

And it was Friday.

_Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Frida-_

No, no, _NO. _Bad Johnny, bad.

"Do you think anyone will come, Lieutenant?" I asked, pulling out my umbrella from the closet.

Garuru seemed just as equally troubled. "I… hope so…" He glanced over at me. "If you'd like, I could go on my own."

"I'll be fine," I told him. "It was a bit warm on my way home from school. I think I'll be alright. Thanks for your concern though, Lieutenant."

Garuru frowned slightly. "I just don't want you to blame me for getting you sick."

"I won't," I promised. "Now c'mon. I'm sure a little rain wouldn't stop them from bringing everyone together."

* * *

Thank goodness I was right. Would a young teenage boy have been found shot dead in the afternoon hours that lonely, rainy Friday?

Not today!

"Hi!" Rita chirped cheerfully, under the large cover that overshadowed the picnic tables at the park. "We were almost afraid you weren't going to show up!"

"Same here," I said with a small smile. I nodded to the older sister. "Hi, Kitty."

"Hi," She replied sweetly.

I looked around. "It doesn't look like Ruby's here yet. Or Stella."

"They'll come here soon," Kitty said hopefully. "I'm sure of it."

"Hiya again, Lieutenant!" Taruru saluted. Tororo acknowledged his superior with a simple nod before returning to his laptop, _somehow _managing to avoid wetting it with the rain and all.

"Hey, Lieutenant?" Tororo called out, drumming his fingers against the table. "We have a problem."

Garuru perked a brow, clearly not wanting to hear anything negative or anything of the sort. "Yes?"

"Our spaceship? Uh, your spaceship?" Tororo quickly added, clearing his throat slightly.

"…Yes?"

"Well, it's… uh… it's a little…"

Taruru decided to speak up. "It's gone!"

"I said _tactfully!_" Tororo snapped, his face reddening when Garuru's pupils visibly widened from behind his visor. "Bad, _bad _Taruru! You fail! _F! F IN TACT!_"

"Won't be the first bad grade," Taruru whistled. Rita rolled her eyes slightly.

"The ship is gone," Garuru repeated, his tone heavy with disbelief. "How can this be?"

"I d'no," Taruru shrugged. "You know how it landed somewhere? It was just _gone. _

"I suspect the vipers."

We all turned to the raspy voice belonging to the cybernetic ninja as he entered under the protection of the hooded table, Stella trailing close behind him.

"Hi," Stella said shyly, waving to the two girls. "I'm Stella." She gestured to me. "I go to school with him."

"Really?" Rita asked, shifting the once suspenseful, dramatic conversation to something extremely random. "What grade are you guys in?"

Before I could interject, she chimed, "Seniors in high school. It's actually our last semester."

The sisters turned to me incredulously. "_How _old are-?!"

"_As I was saying_," Zoruru interrupted, no doubt irritated that he was being ignored. "I suspect the vipers have something to do with our missing ship. Actually, our crash, our seperation, _just the fact that we just so happened to land on a dry-heated area_. It can't be a coincidence; I refuse to believe it."

"Maybe assuming the vipers is a bit of a stretch," Tororo said, making a face. "I mean, sure we've gotten into more than our fair share of battles with them, but _still_. It's not like there's any clear evidence that they attacked us."

"_Ooooh_," Taruru puckered out his lips and gave him a savvy grin. "You're just saying that 'cuz of that mistletoe incident back at sector seven-"

"_TH-THAT WAS ONE TIME!" _Tororo sputtered, his cheeks turning into a dark red color.

"…What happened at sector seven?" I asked slowly, my stupid curiosity getting the better of me once again.

Tororo was silent as Taruru, Zoruru, and even Garuru said pointedly, "_Don't ask._"

Ahh... the painstakingly cruel curiosity… it was _killing me. _

"Hi!"

"Hello, platoon!"

"Ruby," I welcomed with a grin. "Hey!"

"Pururu!" Taruru saluted. "Hiya! It's nice seeing you again!"

"It's been a while," Pururu said with a small smile, mirroring his greeting.

"Okay," I said, standing on the table because, frankly, it made me feel taller. "So we all know each other? ….Yeah, probably not. Alright, pay attention everyone, because I probably won't repeat it again. That's Rita, her sister Kitty, my classmate Stella, and Ruby, the race track girl. And I'm Johnny, not that you would really need to know?"

"Really?" Taruru asked, raising his brows. "I thought your name was Mandark!"

"…_What?"_

"You sure your name's not Mandark?"

"…I'm… I'm _pretty sure_that my name's Johnny."

"Really? 'Cuz you look more like a Mandark."

From the corner of my eye I saw Rita face palm while her sister chuckled at her side.

"I'm Johnny," I repeated, giving him a dry, short laugh.

He shrugged. "Whatever floats your rubber duck."

"_Why _do we keep going off track here?" Zoruru fumed. "Did we forget what was important?"

"Would you mind filling me in?" Pururu asked, her face apologetic. "I'm sorry, but I just got here, and I have no idea what's going on."  
Zoruru's face somewhat softened as he folded his arms and unraveled the prior moment's incidents. She listened with strict, professional professionalism.

…_Redundancy…_

Garuru was by Tororo as the latter explained everything in as much detail as he possibly could concerning the ship, and Taruru nodded vaguely, his eyes glazed over as they stared at the rain.

The girls were attempting small talk. They were all pretty shy, until Stella mentioned some sort of anime. That's when their eyes lit up, and their small chatter blossomed into an actual conversation, eventually moving it to something randomer and randomer…

…Wait, is that even a word…?

I sat down on the table, my legs resting against the seats, feeling that my height was no longer an issue, nor my all too forced leadership stance (someone had to do it… might as well be me). I didn't bother trying to push myself into their chitter chatter, instead letting my mind wander, erasing my surroundings and muting my world, a bad, bad habit that refused to die hard.

Five frogs from outer space. And I thought making handmade stars for the yearbook was special.

Each of them were so different from each other. Honestly, I think it's a miracle they could get along at all, especially after noting how apparently traumatizing one of the Keronians were.

…I guess thinking about it… maybe it's because of their different personalities that they were able to work so well together.

Maybe.

As rude as I know prying into someone else's life is, I can't help but be _painfully interested. _After they find their ship and leave… when am I ever going to get an opportunity like this one? Answer? Probably never. Lightening never strikes the same place twice.

I don't know how I'm going to do this, but… I managed to make Garuru open up to me, even if it is just a little. Maybe some how I could make the others open up to me to, or have the girls living with them open up to me.

Maybe.

"Johnny? _Johnny? Hello~?_"

I jumped slightly. "H-huh?"

"Didn't you hear us?" Rita teased, "Or were you daydreaming?"

"Guilty as charged," I said with a weak grin. "Hehe. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Ruby said, waving her hand slightly. "But you could repay us by answering a few questions for us."

"Fair enough, I guess," I shrugged. "What do you want to ask?"

"How old are you?"

I stared at them, at the four girls who gazed at me with peculiar interest. My mouth twitched slightly, my lips suddenly feeling dry. "W…W-what?"

"You promised," Kitty said softly, smiling.

I sagged my shoulders. "I'm seventeen."

Stella laughed. "I told you!"

"You're so short though!" Rita giggled. "I don't think I ever would have guessed!

"Now for the next question." …_I swear _Ruby's eyes just literally gleamed. "What's your height?"

…_No one _needed to tell me that my face had probably risen to about a hundred degrees, the color visibly showing. "_U-uh…_"

They watched me, their lips stretching to eager, awaiting grins.

"I'm…" My voice lowered to a muffled mumble.

"What? We can't hear you."

"I'm… _Muamhfjmf…." _

"What?"

"I'm 4'11, okay?!" I snapped, blushing even heavier when I realized that my outburst was a little too forceful. "S-sorry."

"…_Wow_," Stella said, bringing her hand to her lips, obviously trying to bite back a smirk.

"You're 4'11?" Ruby asked incredulously.

"I'm still growing!" I protested.

"…Don't you stop growing when you're, like, eighteen?"

"I drink a lot of coffee," I folded my arms and pouted slightly. "I regret nothing."

Tororo spoke up from the background, "…Isn't that an urban legend-?"

"_Silence, you!_"

"…What is the typical height for a Pekoponian male?" Garuru asked slowly, bruising my ego even more upon realizing that the whole platoon had stopped short of their conversation to listen to this humiliating one.

"Like, 5'10?" Tororo answered for me, pointing to his computer when I gave him a quizzical look.

My face burned as I covered it with my fists.

"Don't worry, there's still hope for you," Pururu said sweetly, gently patting my pants leg. She paused at a thought, and then turned her head upwards toward me. "…When's your eighteenth birthday anyway?"

I sighed, arguing that I had absolutely nothing to lose. "August 3rd."

Everyone stared at me.

"You're doomed," Taruru quipped.

* * *

"_The next meeting will be next Friday!" _Rita announced, looking at her watch, counting down the seconds in which she, her sister, Taruru and Tororo would have to leave.

"_I can make it at Friday." _

"_Me too."_

"Same,

" I had said. "_What about at 3:00 in the afternoon?"_  
_  
"Sounds like a plan._"

They all left to their homes, the clouds giving the sky a darkened appearance that seemed to make it look like it was later than it was really. No surprise they wanted to go to their homes; there are a lot of weirdoes when it gets late…

Didn't need the umbrella. I let it hang from my arm as Garuru and I walked back home.

"So you didn't think I was that short, huh?" I asked moodily to my Keronian companion, my face still a rosy, pink color.

"I don't pay attention to that," Garuru said, "As I said before, to me, all you Pekoponians look the same."

I nodded absentmindedly. "Okay." I kicked at a small puddle in front of me. "What were you guys talking about anyway?"

Garuru gave me a side glance before he sighed. "I suppose it's nothing I should be too concerned about. Our ship is missing. I highly doubt we'll be able to retrieve it, especially seeing that most of our technology was aboard the ship when it disappeared. Tororo had tried hacking into it, but it seems that the battery is dead. We may need to start a new one from scratch-"

"Whoa, wait," I looked down at him. "You might have to make a _new _one-?"

"That's precisely what I said," Garuru said gruffly.

"Are you going to need help?"

Garuru shrugged one shoulder. "It's not necessary, but it would be much appreciated."

"I'll help out," I said after a short pause. "Sure. I'd love to help. And I was talking to the others, too; we all want to help you guys get back home."

Garuru twisted his mouth before parting his lips slightly. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but whatever it was, he held it back against his more or less better judgment.

"What-?"

"Would you like to share your story now?"

I was a tad startled by his sudden interest; it's not something he did everyday. He usually kept to himself and failed to remind me of our daily promise to share things with each other.

Maybe he's finally accepting this invaluable time to share a befriending bond…

…Or he probably wanted to use it as a distraction.

_Yeah, that's got to be it._

"Okay, let's see," I thought about it. "Once upon a time, there was a bear that smelled something delicious from a cabin. He followed the scent and, lo and behold! It was soup!"

"I believe this story is reversed," Garuru said dryly.

"No, no, it's right," I said, putting my hands in my pockets. "So the bear sees the soup, and decides it's _so delicious_, so he reaches inside the window and wraps his arms around it. The pot was on the stove, though, so it was really, really hot. The bear screamed in pain and yanked the pot out. However, he was really ticked off at the fact that the pot had burned him, so he squeezed the pot tighter against him. Surprise, surprise, it burned him even more. Throughout the day, the bear continued to seek revenge, dragging the pot while squeezing it against his chest, but only inflicting pain in himself." I slipped my hands out and clapped them together. "Moral of the story? Just let it go."

"…Mmhm," Garuru mumbled, folding his arms. "I honestly don't know what to say to that…"

"Just _go, _Lieutenant."

* * *

It was a different story this time- and it surprised me.

It didn't focus on his platoon, but rather, his younger days with his brother Giroro.

Giroro, according to Garuru, was red, with slanted black eyes. At the time when he was a child, he was smaller and had that trademark white face with a big yellow skull on his belly (Garuru told me he looked somewhat similar when he was younger too; imagining the Lieutenant as an innocent child was too much, though… because I couldn't imagine it).

Anyway, it had started on a warm summer day.

…Garuru had a cold.

He couldn't stand it, lying in bed and coughing into dozens of handkerchiefs at a time, requesting silly things from his impatient mother, forcing himself to go to sleep even though he didn't feel like it… It was just downright horrible.

Worst of all, as much as he liked his little brother, Giroro was being _annoying._

In a sweet way, though, because I could relate. He doted on his older sibling and repeatedly woke him up from his naps to ask if he needed anything. Once he even hopped on his _bed _to ask if he needed anything. Every five frogging minutes Giroro would fly in his room.

Garuru could've snapped, "Bug off, Giroro!_" _If his voice didn't hurt his throat so much.

But the times come when enough is enough.

"Giroro," Garuru croaked weakly, gesturing his younger brother toward him.

"Yeah, big bro?" Giroro asked eagerly.

"I…" He stopped to cough. "I need you to find me something…"

"What?"

"You know the Star Petals that are outside?"

Star Petals were common in their planet; colorful flowers that were found in the gardens of their homes. They were, true to their name, shaped in the form of a star, with only five pointed petals splayed out from the golden center.

Giroro's eyes grew large. "Yeah, yeah?"

"I want you to get me one."

"Sure!" Giroro said, saluting to him. "I'll get your one right now."

That was a nice twelve minutes before the little Keronian came back.

"Did I do good?" Giroro panted, bringing out before him the large petaled specimen of a flower.

Garuru coughed again, into his pillow. He made something of a pitiful face. ".._Well…_"

"What?" Giroro's excited face softened into a worried one. "Did I do something wrong?"

"There was actually one other thing," Garuru said, feigning a sly look. "I actually wanted a Star Petal with…" He shook his head and looked away. "No, you know what? I don't think you could do it…"

"No, tell me!"

"You sure you could handle it?"

"Yeah, I can!"

"I don't know…"

"Tell me bro, _tell me!_"

Garuru bit his lower lip. "_Well… _I actually wanted a Star Petal with _six _petals, instead of five."

Giroro's eyes grew as wide as dinner platters. "_Six _petals?! That's like…" He counted his fingers in disbelief. "_One _more than it usually has!"

"Yeah, I know," Garuru sighed dramatically, resting the back of his hand against his own forehead. "I knew you couldn't do it, but I understand…"

"I said I'm gonna do it!" Giroro said, though his voice faltered slightly. He saluted once more and turned, running out as fast as he could begin the mission.

Unbeknownst to Giroro, the sick sibling just sent him in a wild snipe hunt.

Six petals.

Garuru knew it was downright impossible to find a flower like that, but hey. As long as it would keep the little tadpole occupied.

Hours of meaningful rest later, Garuru awoke to a familiar sobbing noise. He mumbled irritably and turned, suddenly startled by the younger Keronian that was sniffling in defeat.

"_I couldn't find it,_" Giroro whimpered. "I'm sorry, bro." He wept into his curled up hands. "I even asked Zeroro and Keroro to help, but they gave up. I got lost trying to find it in the woods…"

"It doesn't exist."

This startled him. "What?"

"I _said,_" Garuru coughed. "It _doesn't _exist."

Giroro stared at him, and then at the floor. He sniffed and wiped his eye with his arm. Garuru actually felt kind of bad watching him. He was actually about to apologize when-

"…_WHAT?!_"

The next thing Garuru knew, he was barricaded with a rain of fiery, tiny, and totally ineffective fists.

"_YOU JERK!_" Giroro cried out, punching his brother pitifully. "DO YOU HAVE _ANY _IDEA HOW LONG I'VE BEEN TRYING TO LOOK FOR THAT STUPID FLOWER?!"

Giroro at the time was typically very serene and cool headed, so seeing him lose to his anger really amused the purple Keronian. Garuru stretched. "About four hours? _Yeah. _It was absolutely _wonderful_."

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

* * *

"The moral of the story?" Garuru concluded, as I just watched him in complete and utter dubiousness. "Being ill can do the oddest things to you."

"…_Yeah, _I'm sure that was the reason why you were such a horrible child, Lieutenant."

"Familiarity, Cadet." Though this time, he said it more with a smile.

* * *

**...56 reviews? Seriously? This story isn't even that good XD Wow.  
I know reviews aren't everything but _seriously. Wow. _**

**Thanks for everyone who's reading this mess. I hope you're actually enjoying it.**

**Lol, Garuru. Since their histories are so vague, I can come up with the most delicious stories. _Viva la resistance!_**


	11. 33

**DAY ELEVEN, WORD ELEVEN: 33%**

* * *

Garuru had _warned _me of this when he began to stay in my room.

…But I couldn't help but keep _forgetting_.

Maybe I should clarify, yeah?

My school starts at 7:20 am, with school being about twenty minutes away _by car_. So, I typically get up at around five and get ready to leave at 6:40 am.

…._Well…. Sometimes _I forget to turn off my alarm… sometimes…

Saturday morning, and the sky is still dark. According to my biological clock, it's still nighttime. My phone screamed and shrilled, and I felt a headache growing as I groggily reached for it.

"_That's it_."

The sheets were ripped from me.

"_Get up_."

"W-what…?" I slurred.

"I have given you enough warnings. _Now. _Get. _Up._"

I yawned heavily. "Whaz goin' on, Lieutenant-?"

"Put on something warm. You're coming outside with me."

"…W… _why?"_

"To teach you a lesson." Garuru turned to me. In the pale, milky light of the moon, I could see his eyes, golden behind the visor, glow. Yeah, _glow_. "Now follow me."

* * *

"_WHAT?!_"

"I was going to train you anyway. Now choose your weapon."

I just stared down at the purple Keronian in absolute bewilderment, and then slid my eyes to the grass, where an assortment of guns lay. My answer was firm and simple: "No. _Freaking. _Way."

"We are isolated; no one can see us."

I opened my mouth to retort, but then paused, realizing in irritation that that was true. And fear. _What if he decides to kill me? _

"Aren't you dry?" I attempted weakly.

Garuru shook his head. "The mist from yesterday's rain lingers in the air."  
_  
Who talks like that? _Apparently Garuru, at least when he's tired.

"Dude… um… I'm a lover, not a fighter-"

"_Don't make me shoot you._"

"Alright, alright!" I quickly picked up a random gun- a small pistol- and held it gingerly in my hands.

Garuru walked over a few feet and set something up- I'm not sure how or where he managed to pull this off- what I guessed three targets. They stood in a triangular position facing me, one close, the left farther, and the right even far off.

Garuru bit back a yawn and walked back over to me. He crossed his arms and gazed up at me, waiting.

"…I'm… I'm n-not doing this-"

"I can easily make you my target practice instead," He said in a way so casually I knew he wasn't joking. "And please know that I _never _miss."

I sighed. "Fine, fine." Just as I was about to raise the gun, a thought struck me. "Hey, Lieutenant? …Won't anyone hear us?"

Garuru shook his head. "I placed a silencer in the guns."  
_  
Yippee. _"Alright. Here goes nothing, then." I pulled the trigger, and the sheer force, knocked me backwards to my feet. I pulled my hair away from my eyes and saw that the bullet had barely nicked the edge of the nearest target.

"Tch." Garuru placed his hands on his hips. "Try again."

"Please know this is my first time with a gun-"

"Try. _Again_."

I rolled my eyes up to the dark sky, knowing it was futile to argue. I got back to my feet and fired again, managing to catch myself a little better, just tumbling backwards a little.

The bullet this time hit the third red ring on the target.

Garuru raised an eye ridge. "Better."

"Great. When can we leave?"

"Until you hit a bull's-eye."

_Sweet mother of goat milk._ "Okay."

What felt like half an hour passed; my shooting, struggling to stay on my feet, missing the target either near or completely. Garuru would cast disappointed glances at me, almost as if he thought that he could have faith in my ability.

…._Ha. _

"This isn't going to work," Garuru muttered. "Your aim is horrible."

"_Gee. _Thought I was going to eventually figure it out myself?" I snapped, too annoyed to bite my tongue back.

"Get down."

"…Beg your pard-?"

"_Get down_."

I kneeled to my… knees. He let out a small breath and materialized a gun in his own hands (I _got_ to figure out how he does that) and concentrated a moment. He then decided to squeeze the trigger, firing a shot- landing it right smack on the bull's eye of the farthest target. My heart sank. He _really _expected me to do that?

"Your turn," He said finally. "I'll try and see what's wrong."

I tried again. I just know I failed- what with the sudden piercing shriek in the dim hours of the morning.

Garuru winced.

"I think I hit a cat," I said, my face paling.

He coughed, probably just _now _coming to the realization that it was dangerous for someone like me to wield something as dangerous as a gun. Unfortunately, it only seemed like a passing thought, because he turned to me and began to tell me what I did wrong.

I listened with half interest, nodding absently at things that probably didn't make any sense.

Garuru finally closed his eyes and cleared his throat. "…Let's go."

I jumped. "W-…what?"

"Let's _go._ You don't want to be here."

He was just stating the obvious, but I was beginning to feel… bad.

"I'm sorry," I murmured.

"Don't say that," He said bitterly. "You don't mean it."

I guess it was too late to say anything. Still, I-

…Oops.

Garuru stood frozen, staring at the bullet that had _barely _hit the bull's eye; didn't even count; it was literally in between the two rings.

"I'm sorry," I squeaked. "M-my finger slipped."

"So you weren't concentrating," Garuru said blandly. "That doesn't count."

"Sorry."

Garuru grunted. "Don't think that this is the end of it, Cadet. If I hear that _stupid alarm again, _I _will _take you out here and force you to practice your aim again."

The guilty feeling left. I sagged my shoulders, but replied with a halfhearted, "Okay."

Garuru looked at his wrist; something like a watch of some sort? "Had you been at our academy, you would have been forced to go through a camp that would have nevertheless forced you to practice your aim, over and over again, despite your whines and complaints." He shook his head. "_Really. _Your succession rate was 33%."

"Wow," I said, doing a double take. "I suck."

"Yes. Yes you do." He closed the watch-like accessory. "Which is why I am going to continue training you-"

"-if I keep forgetting my alarm," I finished, feeling my head. "I got it." I stood in uncomfortable silence as Garuru put the targets down. "..I'm assuming that your brother is much better?"

"Much better."

"Mm." This was embarrassing. "I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that."

"Désolé."

Garuru ignored me, and I smirked. French is so much fun.

"Did you teach him target practice?"

Nimble, organized, accurate Garuru twitched, the final target slipping past his fingers and falling flat on the ground. He stood there, quietly. He blinked down at the object on the ground, remembered its existence, and bent down to pick it up.

"Lieuten-?"

"Our mother did."

"Your mother?" Whenever someone said that word, I thought of my own. I smiled in hopes of showing him I was genuinely interested. "What's she li-?"

"I would appreciate it if you neverinquired about her again."

The voice was deadpanned, but the cold tone was far from obscure.

"…Oh." I bit my lower lip. I struck a chord. "I-I'm sorry…" I reached for the back of my neck. "…I-if I had known… th-that she, um… died, I wouldn't have-"

"'Died'?" Garuru repeated, turning sharply toward me. "You think she died." His lips pulled up at the edges, revealing the point of a sharp fang as he gave me a dry, bitter, flesh-tingling laugh. I took a step back, suddenly feeling really scared. "She's far from dead, Cadet. Far from it."

All this time I've wanted to hear him laugh. This was not what I had intended at all.

…Why did I have this sudden urge to cry?

"I'm sorry."

"Good." His mouth fell, forming into his all too natural thin frown. "Never mention her again."

I have a really bad habit of doing things over and over, despite knowing that the outcome will more than indefinitely be negative.

…But I was _never _going to bring up the subject of his mom again.

* * *

The tension didn't die down until that night, when he had again mentioned that it was time to share a story. As much as I love to talk, I was beginning to dry up.

So… I told him a personal story instead.

What did I tell him?

…  
Look! It's a bird!

….  
Now it's his turn.

* * *

Space Sirens aren't fun.

What are Space Sirens?

They're these beautiful, alluring, sensual singers from the galaxy of Nira. They shape shift to suit their victims' needs and wants, bewitching the eyes of the beholder.

What do they do with their victims?

They eat them.

Now doesn't that sound original?

The Garuru Platoon had been sent on a mission across the Niran Galaxy, and were told to be absolutely cautious of the sirens (they also made them sign a document stating that if any of them get eaten, the HQ would not be held responsible; sign here, sign here, here, there, and riiiight there).

Tororo shrugged it off. "Sounds stupid. It's just an urban legend."

"Oh, they're real alright," Zoruru said, again from the ceiling. He fell to the ground next to Tororo, scaring the living cheese out of him.

"Don't _DO _that!" Tororo protested, panting. "What're ya tryin' to do, give me a heart attack?"

Taruru gazed down at the empty wrappers scattered about the tadpole's area. "Mmhm. I'm sure Zoruru will be the reason."

Tororo scowled at the light blue Keronian but said nothing else.

"Like I _said, _they're real," Zoruru said, snapping their attention back to him. He added in a bitterer tone, "Zeroro and I came across them once. Didn't end well."

"What happened?" Tororo asked curiously.

Zoruru blushed (to the two younger Keronians' surprise) and looked away. "If you want to know you'll have to die first."

"I don't want that," Taruru shook his head.

"Then don't ask."

"What do they _do, _anyway?" Tororo asked skeptically, folding his arms. "If they're so _dangerous, _why hasn't anyone tried… I d'no… _stopping them?_"

"Enforcements tried," Garuru said pointedly, briefly looking up from his monitor to gaze at the salmon colored frog. He continued piloting the ship. "You can compare them to say…"

"Motorcycle riders," Pururu quipped, putting her needle to the side. "They're like some sort of gang. And they're shape shifters- don't forget that. They can easily blend in."

"But what do they _do_?" Tororo stressed, bringing the question back up.

"They…" Pururu tapped her lips. "Um…" She gazed over at Zoruru questioningly.

"They just…" Zoruru tried, looked at Garuru for clarification.

"They're interesting," Garuru said flatly.

"So you've encountered them before?" Taruru asked.

"…Yes."

"What happened?"

Garuru winced slightly. "…The experience was not… _enjoyable._"

"…You're not gonna share, are you?"

"No."

"Darn." Taruru glanced at Pururu. "How about you?"

Pururu shook her head. "No. But I have heard stories. Apparently they're very frightening."

"What do they _do?!_" Tororo repeated yet again, annoyed.

"If you ever see one… err," Zoruru flickered his eye/s(sp?) somewhere else. "…you'll see."

"You adults are so annoying," Tororo grumbled. "We're not _kids_."

"Well, I'm not," Taruru gloated, grinning down at the tadpole. "Half of the two of us aren't."

"_Quiet you_."

Garuru pulled up his visor and rubbed his eye.

Pururu walked up to him and gently placed a hand over his. "I have this, Lieutenant," She said cheerfully. "Get some rest. I know you didn't get much sleep from driving."

"I'm fine-"

"Who's the nurse here?"

Garuru paused. "…You're right." He sighed. "I'll be in my quarters then. Please keep an eye out."

Pururu saluted. "Will do!"

An hour hadn't passed when the shoes hit the fan.

Garuru sat straight up, hearing the noises slam and crack and drum all over the ship. He was about to head straight for the door when he heard a sweet song, not unlike pretty bells twinkling on a fine spring day.

Of horror! (dun dun dunn…. You could tell I was excited about this)

Garuru slipped on some headphones and slid the dial of his music player to max, the music screaming mercilessly against his eardrums. He materialized a rifle and brought down his visor, cautiously walking down the hallway….

* * *

"Goodnight," Garuru said, sitting down to his bed.

I was bewildered. "…What?"

"Goodnight." He shot a testing look toward my phone. "Don't make me repeat my actions tomorrow."

"But.. But the story!"

"…And?"

"You aren't going to finish it?"

Garuru blinked at me, and then rested a cupped hand against his chin. "…Did you know I also told stories to my younger brother?"

"What does that have anything to do-?"

"They're called cliffhangers."

"…But-!"

"Goodnight, Cadet."


	12. Dead Wrong

**DAY TWELVE, WORD TWELVE: DEAD WRONG**

* * *

"Go fish."

"…Lieutenant… we're not playing Go Fish…."

"…Poker."

"No."

"…Old Maid."

"Try again."

"…Chess."

I couldn't stop myself from chuckling. "Apples to Apples, Lieutenant."

Garuru made a face and sighed, putting down the cards. "I don't understand."

"Not surprising." I gestured to the third player, my dog, seated awkwardly on a chair, who obviously didn't want to play. "Especially since _she _doesn't want to go by the rules."

My dog let out a long, annoying string of whines.

I sighed. "Fine. _Go._"

She eagerly stood up, pounced to the ground, shook herself, and trotted away.

"What was the point of this?" Garuru asked, splaying the cards out.

"I dunno. I honestly thought that you might be interested."

"But there weren't enough players."

"…True," I said thoughtfully. I placed everything back where it was and put the box away in the… bigger box… where we had all our board games. When we're bored. _See what I did there? Bored _game-...?

…Yeah, that was horribly lame… even for me.

_Shun the punbeliever. SHUUN. _

"Let's play Clue!" I said suddenly, slightly startling the purple Keronian. He shifted his body toward me and perked up a brow.

"…'Clue'?"

"It's a murder mystery game!" I said, perhaps a tad too eager. I set a game that was in the shape of a book in the middle of the table, slid the top off the box, and then took out the materials.

"…Murder… mystery?" Garuru repeated, slowly.

"You find out who killed this billionaire."

"'Billionaire'?… Like… Zeroro's mother?"

"Who?"

"…Nothing. Proceed with the instructions."

"Okay, so this one guy is found murdered in this house," I said, gesturing to the cardboard game set. "You have to figure out which room he died in, who killed him, and with what weapon."

"….You seem a bit too enthusiastic about this," Garuru observed slowly.

"Really?" I blushed. "I-I'm sorry. I'm really into this kind of stuff."

"I see," Garuru said simply. He waved his hand. "Go ahead."

"So we have three different kinds of cards," I said, showing him the cards with a cartoon figure, the picture of a room, and a weapon. "I'm going to split it with-"

"Does this game require more than two players?" Garuru asked testily.

"…Yes."

Garuru jumped off the chair.

"…I can go get my dog?" I offered weakly. He stared at me dully. "…My brother's fish?"

He rolled his eyes and continued down the kitchen, toward the stairs. I sighed and put everything back where it was again, telling myself that later I would somehow persuade my sibs to play with me instead.

And if that didn't work, I still had blackmail, so it's all good.

"Where are you going, Lieutenant?" I followed him.

"Outside."

"It's cold outside."

"Yes. But it rained recently, so it will be fine."

I felt like pouting, but I knew he would comment on it, so I resisted that urge. "Can I come with you?"

Garuru shrugged. "If you want to."

"I'm going to go get a jacket," I said quickly. "Wait up."

I snagged it from my bed and ran down the stairs… missing a step and tumbling down. Garuru side stepped out of the way as I crashed on the tile.

Garuru gazed down at me. "…Are you okay?"

"Who let those birds in here?" I muttered. I reached out for them, mesmerized. "They're so beautiful…"

"You're okay. Let's go."

I felt my jaw, and then my head, but when I saw he was just _going on without me, _opening the door and pretending I was _as dandy as candy_, I fumbled to my feet and ran after him.

"It's blue," I said, bored. I stared at the sky before waving my fist in aggravation. "_You could have at least given us a cloud!_"

"…Who are you talking to?" Garuru said, in a tone that almost painfully obviously showed he was trying to diagnose me with some sort of mental disorder.

"_That_," I said in mock bitterness. "Everyday it's sunshine and… sunshine. And more sun. 'Specially on Tuesdays."

"So it's rare that it rains," Garuru interpreted dryly.

"Yes."

Garuru looked like he wanted to punch something, so he settled with a firm face palm to his forehead. _"Of all the places…_"

"Sorry," I added unnecessarily.

"Stop saying that."

"Okay." I put my hands in my coat pockets. We walked in quiet solitude for a moment, until I paused to pick something off the ground. "…Hey. Garuru?"

"Mm?"

"Let's go to the Dollar Store."

Garuru stared at me. "… 'Dollar' store?"

"It's typically a place where you can get everything for a dollar," I explained, waving the five dollar bill I had found.

"…A 'Dollar'?"

"It's the United States' currency."

"Ah." Garuru cast a tired glance at the thin object in my hand. "You trade paper for goods?"

"Yes. Yes we do."

Garuru grunted. "Interesting." He folded his arms. "So everything in the store could be purchased with a dollar."

"Yup. Anything in there." Something hit me, and I grinned down at him. "…Hey. Have you ever tried chocolate?"

"Chocolate," Garuru said, contemplating deeply on the word. "…Chocolate… it sounds familiar."

"…I was joking," I said, my smile faltering. "…Seriously. You've never tried it before?"

"Look who's gullible now," Garuru said, almost sarcastically. Or at least, I think that's what he intended. It's not like his monotone voice did anything to help the comedic overtones in that statement. "I was joking as well. I've had chocolate before. HQ would send us rations with the candy inside."

"Let's buy some, then," I said cheerfully, my face a bit red for falling for that.

Did you know the word 'gullible' isn't in the dictionary?

"Where is this 'Dollar Store'?" Garuru asked after a while.

"It's nearby. Um. Sorta." I smiled sheepishly. "By car. But it'll be fine! I need the exercise."

"That you do."

"Oh, hush."

The bell rang when I opened the door.

The boy at the cash register glanced up before he returned his attention back to the iPad on the counter, his cheek resting against the palm of his hand. A girl, about his approximate age, was pinning up pink and red and purple decorations against the walls and the ceilings, humming some sort of song that I had heard on the radio once.

"Welcome!" The girl sang, waving with a free hand.

"Thanks!" I said with a smile.

The girl squeaked as she tripped over her sneakers, ripping the décor she had in her fist. She slammed her face against the wall, and then fell back on her rear.

I immediately ran to her aid. "Hey. Are you alright?"

"Hm?" She gazed up at me, her face a pink color, no doubt from hitting herself against the brick wall. _Yeesh_. "Yeah. I'm fine." She rubbed her forehead.

I gave a small sigh of relief. "Be careful."

She picked herself up and dusted herself, flipping her hair behind her shoulder. She then paused, and examined me. "…You're a lot shorter than I thought you were from the ground." Before I could protest, she added, "I haven't seen you here before."

"I haven't been here in a while," I said truthfully. I was about to mention getting chocolate for my friend, when I remembered that of course Garuru was not allowed to be, erm. Mentioned.

"I'm Idelle," She said, holding out her hand. I accepted it. "And you?"

"Johnny," I said cheerfully.

Idelle pointed. "That's my brother, Ulliam." She waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about him. He's lazy."

"I heard that."

"So you work here?" I looked around, not that there was anything new to look at, really.

"Ehh, more or less." Idelle shrugged. "Our uncle- _he's _the one that works here- lets us drop by and help him out. He's on lunch break right now, though." She planted her hands on her hips. "So! Can I help you with anything?"

"I wanted to buy some chocolate." I held out my five dollar bill.

Idelle gave me a sly look. "Who for?" She gestured toward the area that was selling chocolate hearts.

"Just for a friend of m- _no._" Okay, maybe I said that a little too rudely. But _still. _The thought of me giving Garuru a lovey-dovey themed chocolate case? I shuddered. He would _never _let me hear the end of it. "Just plain chocolate. I don't have a girlfriend or anything."

"Not even a Valentine?"

"Don't celebrate it. Sorry."

Idelle gave me a strange look. "What?"

"I don't. For me, it's 'Singles' Appreciation Day'."

Ulliam laughed in the background, and Idelle huffed slightly. "Fine! Have it your way." She pointed behind me. "The normal chocolates are over there."

"Yeah, I know," I answered truthfully. "I've been here before."

Idelle waved me off, like she had waved her brother off earlier, and I went off to look at the assortment of candies and things that made your teeth rot. _Yum._

Garuru was already there, looking at the candies intently.

"See anything you like?" I inquired.

"I don't recognize anything."

"No surprise," I said, pulling off a small box of _Reese's Pieces. _"You are in a different planet, you know. I would feel the same way if I was in a different country- like Mexico."

"…Mexico?"

"It's a country that is below the United States. Err, or at least on the map. I got family down there. It's a really nice place."

"Hm," Garuru muttered, folding his arms. After another moment, he looked at me. "There doesn't seem to be anything of interest here."

"Maybe…" I looked off to the side, and saw something that caught my eye. I ran over to this small machine, about as tall as my waist, and pulled the top open. The icy breath of the freezer chilled me, but I took out two ice creams nonetheless, closing it when I was done.

I walked back over to Garuru. "I'm getting you this."

Garuru perked a brow. "And that is-?"

"Ice cream."

"…Ice cream." Garuru caught the first word, and then flickered his eyes at my coat, and my semi-red nose from outside's venture. "…Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Why not?" Before Garuru could say anything else, I interceded, "It's chocolate flavored." and then went off to the cash register to buy it.

I had to pull Ulliam off the iPad in order to get him to scan the items, but other than that, it was no hassle. He was pretty quick, giving me the change and then returning back to his technological wonder.

"Here," I said, tossing Garuru the frozen treat. "No need to thank me, you're welcome."

Garuru looked over the wrapper, holding it gingerly in his hands.

"Do you need help opening it?"

"…I have it."

Watching him pull at the ends, trying to stretch up the popsicle to pop the front, and eventually even going as far as trying to _bite off the top _was priceless. I was just watching him as I enjoyed my M&M ice cream sandwich.

"Do you give up yet?"

Garuru glowered at me, and I decided to shut up.

He finally managed to rip the bag apart into five different pieces (I have no idea how…), but he was finally able to enjoy his ice cream. In the most stoic way possible.

Laptops are fun to use.

* * *

"Okay, you have to tell me now." I said, comfortably seated on my bed while Garuru was sitting down on his.

"…What?" Garuru blinked at me.

"You know! About the sirens!"

"…Ah," Garuru smirked for a moment, but then looked down quickly. "You must share with me something first."

"But-"

"Our agreement."

I yanked my guitar from off my furniture and played him a song. I couldn't remember what it was called, but it was soothing and I was just surprised I even remembered it from my Sophomore year. When I finished, he gazed back up at me.

"…That doesn't count-"

"You said I must 'share something first'." I put the guitar away. "I _shared _you my music."

Garuru opened his mouth, probably to retort, but held it in and gave me something of a smart look. "…Point taken."

* * *

Garuru slipped on some headphones and slid the dial of his music player to max, the music screaming mercilessly against his eardrums. He materialized a rifle and brought down his visor, cautiously walking down the hallway.

He was right- that's exactly what they were.

He told me to imagine them as Pekoponian women, but with green scales and large, fly-like blue eyes. Very creepy in retrospect, but to an alien like Garuru, they're passable as, well, other aliens. Not only that, they shape shifted into anything the viewer wanted. They could be beautiful women, or attractive men, or… I don't know. (I asked Garuru what he saw when he first encountered them, but he just shrugged and continued on.)

When you're under their 'spells', your irises share that blue color, and you're rendered completely useless against them.

Their voices could be compared to a sweet lullaby, with an alluring echo that trailed after their words.

They were irresistible- except when you wore goggles (or in Garuru's case, shades) and something that could somehow dim their musical voices.

Garuru was prepared.

The others… not so much.

"_Come back, baby!_" Taruru sang, his arms outstretched, eyes wide in a trance. "_I'll treat you well~!_"

Tororo seemed to absolutely enjoy the attention that one in particular gave to him, giggling shyly, though more than likely he was hypnotized. "I didn't mean what I said before. You're cute! I wouldn't even mind sharing my snacks with you, if you're willing to like me back."

"_I didn't say I liked you!_" Zoruru stammered, his face red. He turned away and nervously fidgeted as one of the sirens played with his mask. "_S-stop it!_"_  
_  
Garuru would had overall enjoyed this if their lives weren't at stake. He immediately sprang into action when he saw Pururu sweetly walking into one of the sirens that had transformed into a giant mouth, large, pointed teeth protruding, eagerly awaiting for the taste of frog flesh to enter onto their tongue.

Garuru summoned a gun and shot at it several times, making it scream in agonizing fury for his patronizing its lunch. Pururu snapped out of it, startled. She looked about worriedly.

"L-Lieutenant?" She stammered. "What going on-?"

"Space Sirens," Garuru said quickly. He pushed her out of the way. "_Look out!_" The siren lunged toward the two, but the pair had managed to split fast enough to avoid its ravenous jaws.

"What can I do?" Pururu asked the purple Keronian, after he had whipped out another weapon and shot it to smithereens.

"Don't look at them," Garuru said hastily, reading her lips. "Try and cover your ears while you're at it. Don't succumb to their spells." He glanced at Taruru. "And keep an eye out for the platoon members…"

"On it!" Pururu saluted, and then ran off.

Garuru watched her a while, and then shook his head, confident that she could do it.

Next ones up were Taruru and Tororo, who were walking right into the very same mouth.

Garuru shot that one two, making it explode and spew out something that resembled brown mucus on the two youngest members.

"_Eugh!_" Tororo cried out. "This is so _gross!_"

"Space Sirens," Taruru said, nodding at the stuff on his skin. "You're wrong! I'm right. You owe me money."

There were only three sirens, as it turns out. Garuru flipped his visor out and took off his screaming music, his ears pounding in pain.

"Is it over?" Garuru called out, a little too loudly.

"Z-Zoruru!" Pururu giggled nervously. "You're not under the spell now! You can stop kissing me!"

"…Huh?" Zoruru looked down at Pururu, turned a heavy red color, and then gazed over at the other three male Keronians that were watching him. His color went from gray, to red, to white, all in one setting. He dropped her and flew up to the ceiling.

"…Well that was awkward," Taruru said unnecessarily. "Yeuch."

"What happened?" Garuru inquired, turning to Pururu.

Pururu, who was blushing slightly for some strange reason, said, "I was just doing what you asked me to, Lieutenant. And then-"

"Tororo accidentally opened the door," Taruru added, puckering his lips out.

"Did you, New Recruit?"

"_NO! …_Well… yeah…"

"Why?"

Tororo was silent.

Taruru grinned. "_Wait for it…_"

"Well, New Recruit-?"

"I thought they were girl scouts, okay?!"

Taruru laughed, Zoruru cursed openly, Garuru turned away, and Pururu face palmed.

Garuru issued a punishment for the salmon colored tadpole, to everyone's surprise.

Tororo was to be suspended from eating snacks (more than what was necessary) for about a week.

It didn't end well.


	13. Running Away

**DAY 13, WORD 13: RUNNING AWAY **

_**As Told by RITA. **_

* * *

Once, when I was a kid, I had this cat who was cranky all the time because he was old. Being young as I was, I thought it was funny to pester him. I would poke him, watch him growl…. It was pretty fun, as long as I didn't get hurt in the end. But as always, there's only so much that people couldn't take.

And Taruru, as I've learned, isn't that much different from that cranky old cat of mine. And I don't think it was because they both had spots on their face…. But it came pretty close.

Anyway, Taruru had reached that point likewise to a cat when they get angry and try to scratch you or run away. And that's just what he was doing.

_I have to do it. I must get out of here._

This was probably one of the many thoughts he had thought when he had tried it.

But who am I to be putting words in his mouth? I don't know, I don't even know how I'm putting words in my own mouth right now…. I should just start from the beginning.

_Once upon a time, in a magical kingdom far above…_

Whoops, wrong beginning.

Ahem. (I will tell this EXACTLY how Taruru had recollected it to me, no modifications whatsoever.)

It was a sunny day in Arizona, and Taruru decided that he couldn't take living in a room belonging to three females any longer.

As far as his patience went, it… didn't go that far? Honestly, I didn't know what was up with that guy. He had it good—After all, he was only _temporarily_ living in this house of ours. Not that I knew how it had magically gotten to Phoenix in the first place, but I digress. And believe me, I _love_ to digress. And so does Taruru, as he has told me.

But again. I'm getting off-topic. (Which is another way of "digressing," you kn—)

You know what.

Think I'm beginning to realize why Taruru tried to run away. I would have trouble living with myself too.

That said, when I learned that he had tried to run away, I felt hurt inside. What could we have possibly done wrong? Besides practically everything?

Oh, right. The scene.

Our first clue that things were upset was when Taruru stayed quiet for an entire five minutes. And that was, like, as probable as my sister running the marathon. Upside-down. No, seriously. Taruru talked _all_ the time. Even in his sleep.

"But so do you!" he had insisted.

Not only that, but he was a liar. And a big one.

Anyway, Taruru was acting weird, but none of us—that being Kitty, Tororo, and I—really seemed to care. For us, it was a blissful five minutes of silence and peace. This probably made him feel like he was now being neglected, since he was probably being all silent on purpose to get attention. I should know. I could see it, written all over on his face. Because I was the one who wrote it.

Coincidental as it may seem, Taruru was not seen after that marker incident. We looked for him a bit, but gave up after, oh, about forty seconds. He was probably off in the restroom or something.

Wait… oh….

And then it hit me.

_Dangit, Taruru! How dare you run away before me!_

I could practically see the words floating in the air and smacking into my face. Probably had one of Tororo's doohickeys to thank for that, or maybe just all the weird things that were happening. I mean, really—alien frogs? Probably no surprise that words would be floating in the air.

But Taruru. How had he escaped?

No, really, _how_? All around the house were censors to ensure that there was no possible way of getting through the door, making it impossible to run out of the house without crossing over one of those beam-of-light thingies. And the alarms went off whenever the door opened. If a person should take a step on the welcome mat, a gang of ninja would have appeared before him or her to haul them back into the house.

Oh man, I wish.

No wait, no, I don't. How would any of us get to school?

And then another thought hit me. _Tororo doesn't go to school. And yet he's so young. But not Taruru—Taruru's oooold. Really old. 'Cause he looks old, especially compared to Tororo._

I was spending so much time thinking, in fact, that Taruru had already gotten five feet out the door! Or something like that, because none of us were paying attention!

Dramatically, I stood up, abandoning my game of Uno with Kitty. "Kitty," I said, "I think Taruru just ran away!"

"Thank god," she said. I gave her a funny look, and she continued with: "The house is going to be _so_ much more silent now without him. Don't you remember those good 'ol times, when we didn't have any frogs with acne, or tadpoles who stuffed their faces with food we didn't even _know_ existed?" She seemed to be giving a meaningful look in Tororo's direction.

"I know!" I said. "But he ran away! Don't frogs, or Kero-jeans, or whatever it was that they call themselves, like, dry out in this type of weather?" I gestured to the wall, glanced behind me, and then corrected myself and gestured at the window instead.

"Uh… good for him?" It almost sounded like a question, the way she said it. So I answered it—

"No, _not_ good for him. If Taruru dries out, how will we clean that up?" I made a disgusted face. Hmm… dried Taruru… ew. I pitied whoever was his human partner.

"Morons!"

I wondered for a moment who that voice was, until I realized it was Tororo's, whose face was stuffed with food. After swallowing, he said:

"First Private Taruru (however irritating he may be, I'll admit) is an essential to our team. Without him, the platoon wouldn't be able to go on back to our jobs. We need him to regroup with us before we leave this bone-dry crater of a city. Pu pu pu."

"Uhhh… so you need him for your platoon to be complete and stuff?" said Kitty, trying to piece together what he'd said.

But I was confused. "Wait… so… what does Taruru even _do_, anyway?" I asked. "I mean, yeah, so he's important—but why? He can't fire guns at stuff, like Garuru can, or heal things, like Pururu, or cut things up with his razor fingers, like that other guy, or do a bunch of awesome hacking, like you"—He seemed to beam at this.—"but Taruru… _what does he do_?"

"Uh… pu, pu, pu… I guess I'm not so sure myself," said Tororo, with an edge of uncertainly.

We both pondered over this for so long that the minutes seemed to slip by into hours, which they probably did, because I'm the writer right now and I feel like doing that. And thus, because we spent so much time wondering what Taruru was good for instead of actually bothering to go bring him back to wherever he'd run off to, Taruru was not found until the next day. But that wasn't the worst part of it.

The worst part was that Tororo got all cranky, since he ran out of Cheetos.

The second worst part, however, was the fear that had overtaken our bodies when we found the blue frog a dried-up smudge on the sidewalk. It was a sickening sight, the little froggy with his round head, all crinkly and blowing a little with the wind. An empty bag of Cheetos drifted with the wind beside him, almost symbolically.

"…I'll let you clean this up, Rita," said Kitty, giving me a nudge on the shoulder. I swallowed and stepped forward, accepting the fate. I didn't know how I would do it. It was so uncertain, so frightening, so mysterious, to…

"Oh. Did it." I peeled him right up, like a sticker. With one strong flick of my hand, Taruru re-inflated back into himself.

"Whoa! I'm back from the dead!" he explained with an air of enthusiasm, then he turned around. That enthusiasm was lost. "…Oh. _You_ guys."

"Uh, _girls_," I corrected.

"But I'm not a girl!" said Tororo. Kitty turned around and her eyes bulged, not at all expecting to see him there. As if he was a stalker….

Only, he wasn't. …Or was he?

"Hey, hey, Taruru, why'dja run away?" I asked, bending down to speak with him. This action only reminded me even more of how large his head was. So unlike the frogs we have here on Earth. _The CUTE frogs,_ I mentally added, _unlike these monster-things…._

Taruru's face turned red with his anger, which was also a red color. "I ran away because I couldn't take it anymore! You guys are the _worst_! I can't believe I had to land here, with you two, of all people…!"

Well, two could play at this game! "And I can't believe that _you_ had to land here with _us_."

Ooh, lucky me. He was fuming. "Well, it's not like I _chose_ to!"

"I bet you could've, if you had better butt-aim!"

"What… what's butt-aim?!" he shouted, dismayed.

"It's how you control where you land with your butt when you're falling from the sky!"

"But I landed in a spaceship! A froggin' _spaceship_!"

I furrowed my brow. "That's probably only what you want to think."

"But it's the truth!" He turned to Tororo. "Right, Tororo? We both landed here, and against our will. And there's nothing we can do about it!"

"Right. Pu pu pu," said Tororo, the autocorrect formatting him to say something like "pup" and "u" instead, a very rude insult, if I do say so myself. "There's nothing _I_ can do about it, either. Do you think _I_ would run away?"

"Yup."

"Right. Now let's run for it."

Before Kitty and I could protest or say anything at all, the two had already sped away into the horizon, their only remains being the smoke trails that they left.

I opened my mouth slightly, as if to say something. No words came, so a bug flew inside.

Kitty was the one who spoke.

"…How long do you think it'll be till they come crying back?"

I spit the bug out, like a boss, just because I could do stuff like that in this universe. "Hm… fifteen minutes, give or take?"

"Agreed."

We shook hands. "Sis," I said, "we are the best brothers ever."

* * *

We were wrong.

It took them ten minutes.

"I'm… so… hot! So dry!" Taruru panted, his tongue lagging from the heat. Could this have meant he was a dog-like alien, not a frog-like alien? No….

"I ran out of snacks!" Tororo sobbed. "Please, take us back!"

"Never," Kitty cackled callously. (Alliteration is always available.)

"But… but… we can change!" Taruru insisted.

I went to a squatting position. "All right, maybe we'll take you back. But only on _one_ condition," I said to them.

"And what condition would that be?" asked Taruru, looking like he was pumped up and rarin' to go for it. He seemed to have regained his energy after being in the shade. The funny thing was, we weren't even in the shade yet.

"The task is… eh… I'll let Kitty decide."

Kitty thought a moment. A spark of inspiration lit in her eyes, and she said, "_You_, Tororo, will have to sleep on the ceiling tonight."

"The ceiling?! How is that even possible?"

"Figure it out yourself. And _you_, Taruru, will have to—"

"Do the chicken dance in front of your commander the next time you see him!" I broke in, despite what I said about having Kitty decide.

The look on Taruru's face was priceless.

"_AGAIN_?!"

Now the look on _our_ faces were priceless. Er, I think so.

"Um… what?"

"Uh, nothing." Taruru blushed, and Tororo snickered, to which he was hit across the head by the former. Angry that he had been hit by a blue whatever-it-was-that-Taruru-is, he hit him back. They started hitting each other back and forth.

"Hm… do they… remind you of anyone, Kitty?" I asked pensively, with my pensive pensiveness.

"Um, like cats? No… like girls… cat-fighting?" She shook her head. "Okay, I give up. What?"

"They kind of remind me of how we used to fight as kids. Remember?"

"…Does that imply we still don't fight—"

I cut her off. "Which must mean… that Taruru and Tororo are siblings, too!"

They stopped fighting to give us looks of confusion.

"…What?" I asked. "Why'd you stop? It was funny."

"You, Pekoponian…" Tororo balled his fists at his side, and Taruru just face-palmed and shook his head.

"You act like the cutest of sisters!" I added, as an afterthought.

"_You Pekoponians are the worst!_"

It wasn't the only time they tried to run away. There were many more incidents after that.

I wonder why?

* * *

**Okay, so I submitted this... super, super late. So late it was early. I didn't really think about what would happen with a story with so far no arc if I had submitted two chapters at once XD So... there IS a chapter before this one. And I'm going to submit two chapters later today, too. Possibly three. Keep an eye out!**

_I DID NOT WRITE THIS._ Please note that this will now be a habit; the partners of the other four frogs will occasionally write in their own point of view.

Who wrote as Rita in this chapter?

The credit goes to RunwithscissorsXXXbattlescar s.


	14. Seeking Solace

**DAY FOURTEEN, WORD FOURTEEN: SEEKING SOLACE**

**_As Told by KITTY_**

* * *

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

That's how our morning started. With an orange tadpole screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Can't take what?" Rita, my younger sister asked the young alien in the middle of his mental breakdown.

"This." He motioned to our room, "Not only have you forced me to sleep in the same room as…_him._" He pointed with great loathing at Taruru who was yet again not paying attention to the situation around him and blabbing about how great this keronian named Tamama was. Rita and I looked at Tororo with sympathy, being near Taruru was a great evil indeed. Taruru didn't seem to realize this yet, though.

"We're sleeping in the same room as Taruru too, though." Rita pointed out.

"Yes, but, you have not only shoved me in a room with him, but I am sleeping under a FREAKIN DOLL HOUSE BED!" Tororo seethed as if his manliness was disappearing by the second. "I know that there are no other rooms in your house besides the bathrooms and your parents room, but did you really have to put me in the space in your room under the freakin giant purple bed shaped like a girly doll house?" Tororo asked filled with rage. Rita, my eight year old sister and I all shared one of the rare rooms in our house, Rita and Arya shared a bunk bed and there was a small compartment under the bed that was large enough to be a bed for cats and things. We had shoved Tororo there due to having nowhere else to put him.

"At least you're not hiding in the hammock under a bunch of stuffed animals like Taruru." I pointed out. We had put Taruru in a hammock above Arya's bed where she kept stuffed animals, due to not wanting to scare the poor girl, we forced him to pretend to be a stuffed animal and let him be suffocated by all sorts of other plushies due to Arya thinking he was ugly and not wanting to play with him much.

Tororo seemed to calm down a bit at the sleeping arrangement realizing that at least he wasn't some little girl's plaything like Taruru was. He just slept under a giant doll house thing in an area that constantly smelled of cat.

"Better?" I asked offering Tororo a cookie. Food always managed to calm down Tororo temper tantrums which suited me fine since I loved to cook.

Tororo snatched the cookie out of my hand and nibbled on it suspiciously as if he was still wary of living with humans, or pekoponians as he called us.

"Fine. My sleeping area is better than Taruru's. I'll give you that much. Pu, pu, pu." Tororo admitted. He was silent for a moment and then spoke up again. "But there are other horrible things here besides the sleeping arrangements." He narrowed his eyes, or at least I imagined that he narrowed his eyes. I wasn't too sure with those glasses.

"Like…?What is it that you'll have us do for you Queen Tororo…?" Rita asked, humoring him. Ever since we had seen Garuru and Johnny Rita's opinion of Tororo had dropped. Personally, I think she was jealous that we weren't living with someone as cool as Garuru. She always liked the cooler characters. Told me that it was because they made better comic relief when it turned out they had an interesting quirk, like being clumsy, lovesick, unforeseen accidents happening to them, having a fear of something really odd, etc.

"I'm not a Queen! Pu, pu, pu!" Tororo denied clenching his fists and looking as if he was going to hurdle himself towards Rita in anger. Temper tantrums, they never ended well. Trust me, I know. I've seen too many siblings have them. Tororo saw Rita's 'I want popcorn' face and quickly regained his composure trying to regain his dignity. "I'm just saying that this living condition is awful! I…I can't take it living with _girls!_" He cried, "I mean…You change right here as if we don't even exist!" Tororo seemed to be on the edge of tears from the first night he and Taruru stayed here. The things he and Taruru saw when Rita and I (okay mostly me) were just too lazy to change our habit of dressing in our room would haunt him forever.

"So? We're different species. It doesn't really matter what items of clothing you see of ours or what you see on our bodies. It's weird to you if we're dressed or undressed." I pointed out with my beautiful nonsense. It was supposed to be logic. It just didn't end that way.

"But…But…I just feel wrong being in the same room with someone dressing! It's like if I took off my belly sticker…Or hat! Pu, pu, pu." He pointed out. Taruru made a sickened gasp in the background. "And you getting dressed in front of us isn't the only thing awful about girls…Your clothes are everywhere and there are so many items! I get the feeling that some of these are inappropriate and I shouldn't me looking and then some are just weird." Tororo seemed to just be grasping at things to complain about now. I mean, clothes not in a dresser where they belong and just thrown everywhere in a room is nothing bad, right? Right?

"Yeah. I agree with Tororo on this one. I mean, what the heck is this?" Taruru held up a bra.

"Mickey mouse ears." Rita responded almost by instinct. She's been watching too many Disney movies.

"Ears?" Taruru asked. He put on the bra to see if it would amplify his hearing. "I don't hear anything different."

Tororo decided just to figure out what the item of clothing was from his computer. Boy, was he in for a surprise.

"AUGH!" Tororo's screams could be heard from distant galaxies.

Later that day after the bra incident, I overheard Tororo on the phone with Garuru. Probably seeking some sort of comfort again. When would that tadpole ever stop seeking solace?

"Garuru, you have to help me…I'm dying here!" Tororo begged, on the phone. I couldn't hear Garuru's responses so I just imagined some sort of response that fit the conversation, but in a high squeaky voice. Ah, imaginations.

"But…But….Commander, you don't understand! Today it was a bra! And they managed to get Taruru to put it on his head! Do you know what a bra is, commander? These pekoponians are disgusting!" Tororo seemed to be hysterical. He seemed to calm down after Garuru said something. "Yes, commander. I will not speak to you in that way. I will remain calm, sir. But really, I'm at the end of my rope here. The other day, they forced me and Taruru to go through a make-over claiming all males of their species did things like this. After that my face looked uglier than Kululu's! Uglier than Kululu's!" He put an extra level of urgency in the last line as if it was something awful. After a moment of him listening to whatever Garuru told him, he spoke again. "…I feel as if you're laughing mentally at my situation, sir. Why can't you take me with you to live with your pekoponian? At least he's male." Tororo pointed out, "I bet he doesn't want to share feelings every moment either. These girls always want to talk about feelings and get information out of us. And they're always so blunt and awkward too." He listened again. "Ah. So yours does that too? Pu, pu, pu. Maybe it's just a pekoponian thing and not based on gender."

Tororo seemed to change his tactic after that to get Garuru's sympathy so as to escape our house. He started bad mouthing Taruru instead. After a few seconds Tororo stopped talking and looked at the phone as if the line had gone dead.

"He…He hung up on me!" Tororo realized

"That sucks." I comforted.

"Yeah, yeah it does." Tororo answered. He was silent for a moment as I pat him on the back. He let the wheels in his head turn. "AUGH!" He jumped backwards, "When did you get here?" He asked.

"I've been here the whole time." I smiled. There was an awkward silence of staring between us.

"D-did you hear what I was saying on the phone?" Tororo asked worriedly as if it had compromised his position that he was trying to get out of here.

"Yep." I answered bluntly and honestly. Tororo was silent for a moment.

"Are you going to torture me? D-do I have to be victim to that horrible surprise wrestling again?" He shivered for a moment at his experience with glomping. YAY! I gave someone horrible post-traumatic stress!

"That's not torture! That's fun!" I smiled. Socially-awkward people, why couldn't they just understand that hugging was a part of life?

"S-so you mean you'll be doing it to me again as torture?" Tororo asked.

"Not as torture." I answered, "And I'm not going to torture you for trying to escape this place."

"Why not?" Tororo eyed suspiciously.

"Well, you're the thing we use to deal with Taruru, so if you were hurt it would be bad." I answered, "That and I understand wanting to escape this place." I answered.

"You do? Pu, pu, pu." Tororo asked, "Why would you want to escape your own home?" I shrugged.

"You noticed how cramped this place is, right?" I asked. Tororo nodded, "There are four actual rooms in this house with walls and doors. My parents room, my bedroom the two bathrooms and that's it. The rest is lofts and hallways. There are seven people living here. It's just too cramped for me." I answered.

"Pu, pu, pu…How greedy. I don't need space. I just cram into a tiny space with a computer and some snacks and bam! I'm good to go." Tororo laughed.

"Then why can't you be good to go living in our room?" I asked.

"Taruru steals my snacks." He answered. One of his conditions for healthy living was obviously in jeopardy. "And without snacks how can my mind work properly to beat that awful, Kululu? Pu, pu, pu." He answered.

"Who's Kululu?" I asked. I had heard Tororo mention the name before, but I had never had a chance to ask since Tororo was too busy complaining.

"My rival." Tororo managed to take out a picture of the alien from…well nowhere.

"Is she your sister?" I asked noticing the spiral glasses. Because obviously wearing the same glasses is genetic. And sibling rivalry is very common after all. I know I went through it.

"Is…Is_she_my_sister?_" Tororo asked dumbfounded. After a few moments he burst out in uncontrollable laughter. "You think Kululu is a girl? Pu, pu, pu, pu, pu!" He continued laughing for a few moments. Obviously I got the gender wrong. Huh, usually I'm really good with genders. Unless they're voiced by Takehito Koyasu. Then I always mess up their genders.

Cool. I just had one of those legendary breaking the fourth wall moments!

"You're all right, pekoponian. Anyone who insults Kululu, in a way Kululu would feel damages his pride is all right." Tororo laughed. "Maybe there's a use for being here after all…Perhaps I could harness an army against Kululu!" Tororo smiled looking as though he was scheming about something.

"Can I be in the army?" A random Taruru asked passing by.

"No." Tororo answered sharply.

"Can I be part of your army Tororo?" I asked, sounded like fun, torturing some poor soul that wore glasses. Glasses obviously meant you were a nerd. And nerds were fun to torture on an emotional level. Ha. People with glasses. They're so funny.

I pushed up my glasses.

"Sure. I could really use your abilities of torture and blunt honesty to my advantage. Pu, pu, pu." He thought for a moment. "Since you inspired the idea to make an army I guess I could let you be the third in command. Pu, pu, pu. (And since you're the only real person in the army at the moment.)" He muttered the last part under his breath.

"Who's the second in command?" I asked. Tororo took out a cookie.

"This cookie. You will address him as, commander cookie, all right? Pu, pu, pu." Tororo answered.

"All right." I saluted, "Nice to meetcha commander cookie!" I said filled with friendliness

"Pu, pu, pu…You have a lot to learn about being in an army. I'll have to teach you a lot." Tororo seemed to swell with pride for a moment as if he liked feeling like a grown up and teaching someone as if they were a kid. Perhaps it was his way of revenge? "I guess there's a little bit of comfort in being here knowing that at least I'm getting closer to my goal of beating Kululu, pu, pu, pu." I smiled.

I guess he found comfort in aligning against an enemy rather than his commanding officer.

Pain is wonderful comfort and should always be sought.

* * *

I had to skip Ruby's for now ^^; I'll add her in when she hands me her chapter.

Again, this chapter is not written by me.

Who's Kitty?

Rainbowkittyblossomwings.

Enjoy!


	15. Excuses

**DAY FIFTEEN, WORD FIFTEEN: EXCUSES**

**_As Told by STELLA_**

* * *

Son of a batch of cookies.

When will I get a break from all of this nonsense?

First advanced classes _bombarding_ me with homework. Then I have my clubs to attend, got to keep up a good extracurricular profile if I _ever_ want to find a good job...

Speaking of jobs, I think the kids are trying to get at Zoruru, _again_. Man, I sometimes hate babysitting.

Well. Ever since the frog creature alien.. thing... got here, my life has been even more hectic than usual... Which makes me glad I don't have a boyfriend, there's too much stress in that aspect of life... Regardless, I have to take Zoruru away before he decided to murder the baby. That will not go well, _**AT ALL**_.

"Now, now, Nessy, that's not a toy you put in your mouth. It could hurt you if you do," I cooed, gently taking the Keronian away from the 10 month old baby. I replaced him with a bottle and watched her lie down to take her nap. Just as she fell into a deep slumber, I held Zoruru up and glared at him. I began to scold him in a harsh whisper, "How many times do I have to tell you to stay on top of the refrigerator whenever the kids are around? You know how grabby they get!"

His giant frog eye flashed in a sort of evil way, or so it seemed.

"You listen to me, you Pekoponian, I get bored on top of that refrigerator. I don't care what your excuse is! Let me down! If you don't let me down, I will..." I rolled my eyes and ignored his threat. He should know by now that his little threats won't scare me. I'm made of steel! Or rather I'm just a mass of weird and hyperness, and I just don't care much anymore.

"Whatever, I'm going to do my homework now, you can watch if you want," I said, walking into my room. I set down Zoruru on my desk and pulled out my pre-calculus notebook from my heavy backpack.

"I have no interest in your petty pastimes. I have my revenge to take!" The frog got up and walked up to my window.

Did he just call homework _pastimes_?

Water drizzled from the dark clouds that covered the sun. I love days like this. Its nice and chilly and it's raining and the window opens and a half-robot frog is climbing out...

Wait.

"For the love of Tumblr, get your frog tail over here!" I grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back in. "What do you think you're doing? The dog will eat you if you jump out." Why does he keep forgetting that we have an overprotective German Shepherd in our back yard. "You know Rambo _is_ a retired police dog."

"I will rip him to shreds if he does anything to me." I sighed. I have to be a tough one with this frog.

"What do you want, Zoruru?" He does this every time he wants something. Last time it was to get his revenge. And so was the last time... and the time before that.

"I want revenge." Of course.

"Really? Who don't you let bygones be bygones and just chill? Be happy for once!" He just stared at me as I gave him a sweet smile. "I've got some homework to do and some things to reblog and people to talk to on Tumblr... but how about we go on on a rainy day stroll? Maybe a little bit of humidity will take your crankiness away. Who knows, maybe you'll meet a cute frog chick on the way." I wiggled my eyebrows at him. He glared at me for suggesting that. I sighed and shook my head. "You're impossible. You know that right?" I nudged him lightly on his back in irritation, but then he turned and his metal claw turned into a sword like weapon and ran to me at full speed. Me?

I just took out my portable heater and pointed it at him. This dried him up a bit and weakened his frog part. But the other half tried to keep going. I usually don't pull stunts like this, you know, pulling out a heater to dehydrate a frog because he almost killed me, but I couldn't afford to be nice with this kind of personality.

He collapsed, muttering, "I will get you, Stella..." and "Whyyyyyyy..." I picked him up with both my hands and smiled at him.

"So, how about a walk outside? You look dehydrated. A little humidity would cheer you up? My mom's here, so I'm relieved of my babysitting duties." He fumed and agreed to go.

"The main reason why I don't like going out on walks with you is because you stuff me into a bag full of paper and art supplies. It's uncomfortable, and it doesn't really help with the dehydration part, because I'll most likely suffocate in there." He crossed his hybrid arms, and tapped his foot impatiently. This guy is really impatient and a bit rude. He needs to be taught a lesson.

"All right, fine. I have the right thing for you. Just wait here." I left my room and decided to go through the little coats we have just in case we get a surprise foster kid and he doesn't have a jacket. From there I pulled out a little pink raincoat with little yellow flowers as a pattern. I smiled evilly and ran back to my room. "Put this on. That way you don't have to 'suffocate' in my bag, and no one will question why there's a bipedal frog walking next to me and I wouldn't have to deal with the FBI!" He shot invisible laser beams from his eye to the little pink coat. I was pretty sure real visible laser beams were going to shoot out of his eyes any moment now.

"There is no way I am going to wear that girly coat. Not ever!"

* * *

So I love going out on rainy days because I love the smell of wet earth, the pitter patter of the rain falling on the solid ground below, I get to use my awesome umbrella, black with the handle being the hilt of a katana, and I get to mentally giggle at the fact that Zoruru is wearing a pink-with-yellow flowers raincoat. Oh, and duck patterned rain boots.

I gotta admit, he looks adorable in a childish way. He keeps jumping in puddles on the sidewalk, I think he's enjoying himself! Or maybe he's imagining stomping on my head for humiliating him. It's most likely option number two.

I couldn't help but jump in the puddles too. It was fun splashing the water all over Zoruru, who began to get mad at me, so he jumped into the puddle and he got me wet. I kicked the water, but he jumped out of the way, and clumsily fell onto the wet grass. I think the boots were messing with his coordination and for some reason, that struck me as funny, so I burst out laughing. I laughed to my heart's content, which was usually after thirty seconds and helped him up from the grass.

"Ah, forgive me, I just thought it was funny," I said, smiling at his mad face. He glared at me for a bit then his face softened. You can't beat the power of a sweet smile.

"Fine, I'll forgive you for today. Only if you go take me to go get my vengeance against Dororo." Again with the revenge.

"Or how about next time, I'll make you wear a different coat. Just so you know, I'm a _'make pasta, not war'_ kind of gal. So keep the hate in check, okay?" Crossing his arms, he began to walk ahead of me, going in no particular direction because we have no destination to get to.

While walking down the street, a few people stared at us in confusion. I was beginning to get a little worried, did they suspect that I was walking with an alien life form, or was I just being my paranoid self, again? I panicked even more because a man wearing a black suit and wearing sun glasses was walking towards me.

One: Where's his umbrella?

Two: Why is he wearing _sun_glasses on a _rainy_ day?

Wait.

Crap, I was found by the Men in Black, they're going to erase my memory of Zoruru with that little memory wipe device thing. The man stopped in front of me and inspected me behind the sunglasses. I felt a rising panic build up in my chest and I felt Zoruru hide behind my legs. The man then smiled at me. I politely smiled back.

"Aren't you a little too young to have a child?" inquired the man, gesturing at the figure hiding behind me. It took my fleshy computer a bit to process what he meant, then I chuckled a bit.

"Oh, this is not my kid, I'm just simply babysitting and he-she- wanted to go out and play in the rain. You're right, I am too young to have a child! Waaaay too young! This kid's four, I would have been fourteen when I'd have him- er, her. Don't worry, I'm just her babysitter." The man nodded and gave Zoruru a small wave. I felt him growl at the man, most likely wanting to kill the guy, but the man probably thought Zoruru was hiding because he was shy. Oh, how wrong that man was.

The man bid me a good day and left. I let out a sigh of relief. Wasn't that awkward?

"Ah, what an awkward situation. Are you alright, Zoruru? You're shaking? Are you cold? Would you like to go home?" I kneeled in front of him and looked into his visible eye. He glared at me for a bit then sighed.

"I'm all right. Lets go back. All this nonsense is getting me unnecessarily mad. It took every inch of me not to attack that man. Why did he think I was your kid anyway?" This question caught me off guard for a bit then I nervously laughed. I had to think up of a quick, PG reply to that. My mind isn't really PG anymore.

"Well teenagers my age or younger are beginning to have kids... And adults look down on that because well teenagers aren't ready for parenthood. We're too immature and lazy." I had to be honest on that.

"Ah, I see."

"Anyways! I congratulate you on your ability to control the assassin within! So for dinner, would you like some pastaaaa~?" I watch too much Hetalia. Zoruru nodded and jumped on my back, completely forgetting that his coat was wet and It was freezing outside, so the water seeped through my jacket and all of a sudden it got really cold for me, even though I'm a natural space heater. "Darn it, Zoruru! That's cold!"

"Mush!" Did he just tell me to mush?

"This is Arizona, not Canada or Alaska. And I'm a human, not a sled dog. I will not mush." I do like sled dogs though, and I would love to visit Alaska and Canada one day.

"What's a 'Canada'? Can I kill it?" Did he just seriously ask what Canada was? Man, even the aliens don't know what Canada is. Why is Hetalia so accurate. Oh there I go again, going on a Hetalia tangent. I watch that anime too much.

Did he just ask to kill Canada?

"No you cannot kill Canada, mainly because Canada is a large landmass on earth. Canada is also the leader in maple syrup and hockey, and everyone is nice there." Or so Tumblr tells me. "Now stop with the violent talk, or you will not get any pasta." He stayed quiet on the walk home.

When we got home, I could smell spaghetti in the air. Yum.

"You go to my room, and I'll get me some spaghetti." He sneaked back into my room and I grabbed a large bowl and scooped a large serving of spaghetti in it.

"Man, you must be hungry," said my mother, making a bottle for little Ness. I chuckled awkwardly and nodded. Madre must not know an alien is living in my room. Well, unless she walks in on him unexpectedly. I hope she'll understand.

I tiptoed to back to my room with two forks and closed the door behind me. Zoruru was holding up one of my _Shonen Jump_ magazines, staring at the cover. I set down the bowl in front of him and we began to eat as he asked questions about a manga I have never read.

* * *

**_DON'T FORGET TO READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY!_**

Okay, now that that's taken care of.

This chapter is written by xXUr-RawR-BuddyXx, a friend from school (: Both of us hope you enjoy it!


	16. Judgement

**DAY SIXTEEN, WORD SIXTEEN: JUDGEMENT**

**_As Told by RUBY_**

* * *

You know what I hate? Opinions. I'm not saying I hate criticism. That's different, I ask for your opinion to better myself and accept the truth no matter how bad it is. But when people comment on everything you do, saying this is bad or you should have done this and blah, blah, blah; oh...that really gets under my skin.

I mean, it's OK if you say it's nice to be polite and keep your opinion to yourself, but lets say you ask to borrow my notes or something, and I doodled on the sides whenever the teacher went of topic.

If you leave me a sticky note that says my doodles are horrible and I should work on my stars is going to put you in my bad list. And no, I'm not talking about Santa's naughty list, I mean the list I'm going to use when I decide to become a serial killer and go on a rampage. So don't be surprised when I come up to your house one day dressed as Goku and go all kame-hame-ha on you.

You've been warned.

Anyways, this happens a lot with my family, I don't know why, but they absolutely love criticizing every little thing I do. And every time they do, I add another check to my list on whose car to 'accidentally' hit with my bat.

But sometimes, my patience is all worn out from being with my family, so I end up having to take it out on some innocent creature. Unfortunately that creature is my dog. So to make up for it, I bought him a big ole' box of his favorite treats and bribe him into loving me again. I'm such a great owner...

"Lemmie, here boy!" I click my tongue and pat my thighs to get his attention. He's probably upstairs, hiding from my little brother who insists on grabbing his tail and blaming me for being bitten. It actually is my fault for letting him be bitten, but it's not my problem he doesn't learn. I heard barking from upstairs and sighed. "Lemmie, if you make a mess in my room again, you can forget about going to the dog park!" Opening the door I gasp and shake an accusing finger at him. "NO, bad dog, she is NOT a toy!"

He stopped and gave me a sad look.

"Get off her now." He finally released her hat flap and pawed at the ground guilt-fully (I think that's a word.) "Now go downstairs and think about what you've done."

He let out a sad whimper and left the room with his head hung low. "And you can forget about going to dog park later!" I closed the door and let out a small huff.

"What was that?"

"My dog, sorry."

"Its ok, don't worry about it." She winced at the touch of slobber on her hat.

"Want me to wash it for you? I have a hat that might fit you in the mean time." She gave me a skeptical look and I magically pulled a green ushanka from behind me and quickly switched hers for it. "There; once yours is dry I'll give right back to you!"

"Thank you." She tugged at the hat and raised a brow. "Isn't this Arizona?"

"What's your point?"

"Arizona's pretty hot with a lot of sun..."

"Oh, I have the hat for cosplay!"

"For what? ...Ru-"

"Don't judge me."

"Wha-?"

"Nevermind, change of topic!" I held my chin and looked up in thought. "What type of music do you like?"

"Music...?" Oh my flipping flipper flop...

"You... don't know what..." I feel a heart attack coming up as she raised her hands up in objection.

"Oh, no I do, but I never have the time to listen, what with being the Platoon nurse and all."

I laughed and looked at her in disbelief, completely ignoring the almost heart attack I just had. "Oh c'mon, the others can't get hurt that much."

"...you don't know Taruru and Tororo..." she hung her head sadly and I laughed awkwardly.

"Ok then... here look through my phone and find something you like," I took out my phone and handed it to her. "Don't rush the music man, take your time." She nodded and scrolled through my many playlists, her eyes occasionally widening and her eyes brows raising and lower as she read each new song title. I held back a laugh at how adorable she looks and wondered if the others had to deal with such adorable Keronians like her. It's nice having someone calm and collective-

"AHHHH!"

Might have spoke too soon... I grab my ears and wince as she jumps up and down on my bed.

"I love this song, I can't believe you have it!" Small sparkles pop out of no where and she hugged my phone, swaying slightly.

"What song might that be?" I croak out... yeah I'm not good at comedy...

"Bleeding love!"

"Oh yeah, a friend of mine showed me that song, thought it was cute and would be good fanfiction inspiration." Now would be the best time to joke about the fourth wall, but ehh, I can't think anything even remotely funny at this point.

"It's really nice, how a girl who's been hurt and isn't looking for love, finds love and can't control her feelings while everyone thinks she's crazy for falling for him!" I don't exactly tune out, but she starts talking really fast and I couldn't make out the words anymore, so I just nod and add a hmm and yeah every so often.  
This goes on for a while and I eventually decide to stop her myself for fear my attention span would give out.

By the way, did you know the capital of Switzerland was Berne? I asked like twenty people this and nobody gave me an answer! I eventually had to google it-

"Pururu?"

She immediately stopped and looked at me.

"I have other song in there you might like if you're a die-hard romantic." Her cheeks turned tint pink and she handed me the phone, relaxing and taking a seat beside me. "Oh, how about this one?"

_Take my hand, I'll teach you to dance, I'll spin you around, won't let you fall down..._

As the song ended, I looked at Pururu and saw her hold her cheeks, blushing immensely with little hearts popping out of...somewhere...

I tapped her shoulder and she immediately popped out of her daydream. I held back a fit of giggles as she blushed in embarrassment and shifted her eyes away from me. I suddenly burst into laughter and clutched my gut as her white face turned redder with humiliation.

"That's so cute!" I leaned forward, clutching my gut and laughing into my hand to try to stay quiet, but the look on her face was priceless! She protested and yelled at me with her eyes closed tightly. I couldn't make out what she said on account of my laughter, but when I can't hear her anymore, I stop and slowly compose myself once more.

I waited for her to speak up first, but countless minutes pass where I shifted in my bed and uncomfortably tug at the collar of my shirt. She's facing the other direction with her arms crossed and a frown on her face. The blush on her face that started this is still present on her face and I wondered whether it's from anger or if she's really embarrassed. So to end this horrible silence, I suck it up and apologize.

"Sorry, it was rude of me to laugh." She slowly turns to me and smiled slightly. "But in my defense that blush was adorable and I was laughing at how cute it was."

Pururu attempts to keep a frown, but I see her try to keep down a smile.

She spoke with the same monotone voice as I did. "Don't judge me." And I burst into another fit of laughter.

* * *

Remember when I mentioned my family's judgemental ways?

"You should clean up around here more, it's always so dirty and disgusting." Yeah, here"s a great example of one.

Take a deep breath, relax. He's only visiting.

"I cleaned yesterday, I guess it didn't take long for it to get all messy again."

"Or you didn't clean well enough." Again, relax, he's only here for a few days. Be polite. "You're a woman, you should be cleaner than this!"

Oh he is sooo lucky I'm not a raging feminist. Is it bad that I want shove a rag down his throat and feed his hands to Lemmie right now?

"I don't know why I expected more from such a lazy girl..." OK, that's it. Time to leave before I get charged for manslaughter or premeditated murder. Might be premeditated, I have been watching a lot of CSI lately...

"May I be excused? I need to finish my homework," I lied and high tailed it upstairs to my room. I slowly closed the door to ward of any suspicion and slump face down to the ground.

"Something wrong?" Pururu asked. I look up from the comfy floor and give her a wry smile.

"My family, they're just really..." I shiver, "...rude."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah..." I sit up and watch her close and push a book away. "How's your family like?"

"Oh, being in the Keronian army means I don't really see my family much, and the last time I saw my mother we didn't leave of good terms." She looks down at her hands and plays with her fingers... I'm obviously swimming in shallow waters so I'll just... "She wanted me to have an arranged marriage like her." Well never mind the shallow waters now. "And..." her words hung in the air and I felt a wave of sympathy wash over me as her large eyes filled with tears. I shifted nervously and stared down at my own hands so as to not meet her gaze. The silence made my heart pick up pace and my mouth go dry as sadness filled the once casual air.

"And he got in the way..." She looks up slightly and nods.

I stand up and awkwardly sit next to her, I take a deep breath and put on a soft smile. "Well, don't worry. You're in America now, the land of heart disease and crazy people."

Did I mention I'm not very good at comforting people? Well you know now...

I was actually surprised when I heard her laugh. Normally people just stare at me like I've grown a third head and turn to someone else for comfort.

"Thank you," I laugh, leaning back casually on my bed.

"Don't worry about it."

_CRASH_

We both jumped and stared at my door as screaming and the sound of breaking plates are heard. I heard a sound that is, no doubt, my mother screaming in Spanish. Pururu gave me a confused look and I hugged my knees close to my chest and buried my head into my, er, knees.

"I shouldn't have left."

"What's going on?"

I looked up and frowned at the door.

"Remember when I said what my family lacks in patience they make up for in height?"

"Yes...?"

"They're very tall people..."

Why couldn't we have ended it on a high note? Why couldn't we been in an anime or fanfiction so we could have just stopped it when I comforted the alien I"m hosting? It would have made things so much easier.

"I better get down their before my mom breaks the fine china...again..." I sadly opened the door and exited the room with my head hung low and my feet dragging down the stairs.

And my family wonders why I'm in counseling...

* * *

**_YES I'M GOING TO BE ANNOYING AND INSIST THAT YOU SEE THAT YOU DID NOT MISS PRIOR CHAPTERS. WEEE._**

I just fixed a couple of grammatical errors, but everything was written by Ruby.

Who's Ruby?

Ruby-Guardian.

But now to review all of these chapters... really, girls, you scare me XD What you do to your poor partners... great for comedy relief, though (sorry, fellas).

But seriously! Thank you for submitting me your chapters on such a short notice! I really, really, _really _enjoyed reading all of your chapters. They were really creative, and really enjoyable to read.

And for the readers... expect more from them. There's at least twelve more chapters like this, while not exactly soon, but later down the road of this fanfiction. Thanks!


	17. Love

**DAY SEVENTEEN, WORD SEVENTEEN: LOVE**

* * *

"Johnny?"

I stopped, pushing my hoodie over my eyes to see who had addressed me.

The cute, light purple frog, the one that looked like a tadpole. I smiled down at her. "Hey, Pururu."

She fidgeted slightly, her cheeks turning a warm pink color. "I-I…" She held out a card in front of her, toward me, bowing her head down, "I-I would appreciate it if you could deliver this to Garuru."

I tilted my head and reached for it. I examined the purple envelope and turned it over. "What's this?"

"I-it's…" She touched both her cheeks and blushed again. "It's for Garuru." She finally managed, gazing up at me. "I want him to read it, please."

"Oh, okay."

"D-don't tell him who it is, though. P-please."

I scrunched my nose. "Why not?"

"All these questions!" Pururu said with a nervous smile, planting her hands on her hips. "Can't you please do this favor for me? Please?"

"Of course, but I'm just curious as to why-"

"_Help meeeee!_"

"_Please help us! Pleeeasee!_"

Pururu and I looked upwards toward the sky, and were bewildered to see two green specks heading down toward us.

…And they both decided to use me as a target, apparently.

What do I look like, fate?! Gravity?!

"We're awfully sorry, mister!" The blue-green eyed one cried out from my head.

"Yeah, real sorry!" The second one said.

"More birds…"

"Chiroro! Karara!" Pururu folded her arms. "What is the meaning of this?" She stopped only for a moment and gazed down at me. "…The letter's still okay, right?"

"It's dandy," I held it out, partly concussed.

"Good." Pururu turned back to the little tadpoles. "What are you two doing here?"

Karara stuck out her bottom lip. "I just wanted to meet my one true love again!"

"One… true love…?" I mumbled.

"Garuru!" Karara, the wide-blue-eyed girl explained with a firm nod. "Yup yup!"

"Uh… okay." _Someone had a crush on the Lieutenant? _Wow. That is _definitely _something you don't see everyday.

Karara sighed, her hands at her cheeks, strangely imitating someone I know I've seen before…though who I couldn't remember… "I'm going to be his wife someday."

"U-um, sweetheart?" Pururu turned Karara toward her. "Don't you think you're a little… young… to be pursuing Garuru?"

"And don't you think you're a little old to be telling me that?" Karara responded cheekily.

Pururu made a face similar to a mirror cracking in half. Or in threes.

Something came to mind. "Hey, Pururu? Isn't too dry for you to be out?"

"H-huh? Oh…" Pururu managed to shake herself out of it, but it was obvious that the age thing was still bothering her. "I soaked myself in water before I came over here…" She felt her arm. "But it's obvious that I'm drying out now…"

"Then you should go," I told her. "I'll give the note to Garuru."

Pururu blushed and glanced at Karara, who suddenly wore a very suspicious look.

"What note?" She demanded.

"N-nothing," Pururu stammered.

Karara gazed over to me. "Why are you the one giving it to Garuru?"

"He's staying with me?" I said, more in question than answer, because I honestly didn't know if I should be telling her this. "U-um, we were all going to go to the park anyway later."

"Oh, that's right!" Pururu gently hit her forehead. "I'll have to remind Ruby."

"Can we come with you?" Karara asked me, her eyes wide.

Gyahh… the cuteness… it's too much to handle…!

* * *

"_Garuru!_" Karara squealed, running up and embracing the purple Keronian.

Garuru blinked awkwardly down at her, and then looked back at me, wearing a clueless expression.

"Um…" I shrugged and placed my things down on the bed, including the letter, which I mentally noted to give to him later. "Who is she?"

"She's the daughter of a very important Keronian that owns a wealthy incorporation," Garuru explained, gently pushing the lovesick girl away from him.

"And how do you guys know each other?"

"Garuru's my knight in shining armor!" Karara said dreamily.

"….My platoon was assigned to watch over her after a ransom had been written," Garuru clarified.

"Oh," I perked a brow. "…Uh?"

"That is a story to be told at another time."

"Aw. Okay." Typically when he says that, it meant he already had a story in mind later today. Yay. Waiting was so much fun.

"Garuru was so valiant!" Karara continued to gush, throwing her hands together.

I just stared at her.

"…She does this often," Chiroro said quietly.

"Ah."

"We're meeting everyone again today, Lieutenant," I said, turning his attention back to the matter at hand.

Garuru nodded in response, and then looked briefly at the window. "I'll assume it's dry?"

"Yeah. Sorry."

Garuru sighed. "At least we know beforehand."

"And I got the water bottles," I assured him. "And I'll douse you guys in water first."

"Wait, what?" Chiroro inquired, "What?"

"It's too dry here for you guys," I told her. "You landed in Arizona, the Valley of the Sun… sorry, it just happened to be on accident."

"And there's no way for you to go back?" Karara asked Garuru.

"Unfortunately, not at the moment, no."

"I can make an arrangement to get you guys home!" Karara said, rocking back and forth. "But it'll cost ya."

Garuru seemed to know what was coming, so he didn't bother questioning for any sort of price. He opened the door and gestured toward the hallway. "After you, Cadet."

* * *

"_No. _No, no, _no._"

"You're being childish, Tororo," Garuru sighed, resting his elbows on the table.

"Pu-pu-pu! I am _not!_" Tororo pouted, folding his arms. "I just _refuse _to call… _him!_"

Stella, Rita, Kitty and Ruby were deeply engaged in a conversation about Hetalia at the moment. I didn't feel right intruding on said conversation, so instead I just listened to the platoon discuss their means of getting home.

Apparently calling someone by the name of "Kururu" was going to help; genius that he was, he could possibly offer sending the parts over to them, if not building it himself. But apparently it was a lot more complicated than just easily picking up a phone and dialing his number.

"_No_."

"Tororo, please," Pururu planted her hands on her waist. "We need you to ask him for help."

"Why _me?_" Tororo stressed.

"Because you're the only one with the number," Taruru said.

Tororo was silent for a moment. He then grumbled and pulled out a piece of paper out of nowhere and scribbled something on it, then handing it to Taruru indignantly. "_You _call him, then."

Taruru took it skeptically. "…You know his number by memory?"

"_Don't doubt our hatred, mortal!_"

"Mmhm," Taruru said with a small grin. He pulled Tororo's laptop away from him and typed in the number, pressing 'Dial' when he was done (Keronian technology is so cool).

"…Lieutenant?"

Garuru made a side glance to Pururu. "Yes, Chief Medic?"

Pururu twisted her fingers together. "W-what did you… what did you think?"

"Hm? Of what?"

Pururu looked at me, and I blushed heavily. _Oops. _I _knew _I forgot something important.

The female Keronian waved her hands dismissively. "It's nothing."

Garuru tilted his head slightly. "I see. Very well, then."

Now the girls were enthusing over Karara and Chiroro, flipping over their overall cuteness and sweetness, 'aw-ing' at the prospect that Karara wanted to marry Garuru.

And Garuru cringing at said prospect.

"_Ku-ku-ku_. Oh, it's you. What do you want?"

A heavily accented, nasally voice suddenly filled the air, and everyone looked at the screen of the laptop, except for Tororo, who was munching on a 'FatBoys' chocolate bar while struggling not to shout out profanity.

A yellow Keronian with an orange cap and earphones with swirly glasses was staring derisively to the light-blue one, who was grinning like the he was playing a prank on someone.

"Hiya, Sergeant Major!" Taruru saluted.

"Yes, yes, ku. Is there anything you want?"

"See… we need help," Taruru jerked a thumb behind him. "'Specially Tororo."

Tororo hacked on his candy bar.

Kururu's lips parted into a twisted smirk. "_Ku-ku-ku-ku! _Is that so~?"

"Th-THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Tororo cried out, shoving Taruru out of the way. "I DON'T WANT YOUR HELP, AND I DON'T NEED IT!" He shook his fist in the air.

"Really? Ku. Shame. Guess I'll just hang up now since this call has been proven useless-"

"Sergeant Major," Garuru quickly made his way to the screen, immediately faltering the smile Kururu had. His voice sounded so calm compared to the others'; it was so comedic, it almost sounded like an anime or cartoon of some sort. "We really do need assistance."

"…Is that so?"

Pururu gently pulled Tororo aside and sat next to Garuru. "Yes. See… our space ship crashed in America, and… well…"

"We can't find it!" Taruru piped from the background.

"What he said," Pururu sighed. "And not only that, we're in one of the driest states in the country-"

"Which is?"

"Arizona."

Kururu seemed to wince at this. "I see."

"We need parts sent to us," Garuru explained. "If that is at all possible."

Kururu leaned back on his chair and folded one leg over the other. If he didn't look so creepy I would think he actually looked kind of cool. "I'll do that, ku."

"Thank you!" Pururu said sweetly.

"But it will come at a price."

Garuru frowned at this, slightly irritated. "Price?"

"Ku-ku-ku-ku! I'm a very busy Keronian, Lieutenant. Making parts exclusive for your ship will require material and of course, much, much time."

"True," Garuru shook his head. "All right. That's understandable. How much exactly do you have in mind?"

"No money," Kururu waved his hand at the thought before bringing both together, fingers in between each other. "I just need you to test some things for me. _Ku-ku-ku_!"

"Test?" Zoruru repeated, his organic eye slightly going up at this. _Whoa. _Forgot he was there for a second.

"Yes. See, I have made some interesting stimulations that are finished; the only thing that guarantees its completion is the use of guinea pigs-…." Kururu suddenly paused, and stared at us for a few seconds. "…Who are they?"

Garuru seemed to suddenly realize that, as nosy as all 'Pekoponians' are, we were also watching the screen along with the platoon. The girls grinned widely at him, and I ducked my head and slid away, my face feeling incredibly warm under his cold stare. He closed his eyes and turned back to the inventor (at least I think he was). He cleared his throat. "These are… the Pekoponians that have kindly taken us into their residence."

"Now doesn't that sound familiar," Kururu mused, his smile widening. "Hmm. It seems you are more than well qualified to try out my experiments… _ku-ku-ku."_

"That doesn't sound good," Pururu said quietly.

"Well," Kururu shrugged. "I'm willing to build the entire spaceship myself if Tororo is just as willing to bow down to me and consider me as the better hacker-"

"_NEVER!_"

"Very well then, ku!" Kururu said cheerfully. He turned his chair away from the camera and flung his arm out. "I'll work on it right away. I'll send you the parts in pieces, and it'll be your job to put them together, ku. Shouldn't be hard. But in order to activate the part, you'll have to turn on the stimulation and beat the game."

"Goodie!" Taruru clapped. "I love games!"

"_Quiet, you_." Tororo growled.

"You and your Pekoponian partners must also take part of the stimulation, ku."

"Cool!" Rita said excitedly.

"No, _not _cool," Tororo scowled. He returned a glare to the inventor. "What's the catch, old man?"

"No catch," Kururu said, turning his chair back to the screen, trying to sound innocent but clearly failing. "_Ku-ku-ku. _Let's just say if you don't beat the game, you don't get the part. Now," He gazed at each of the girls, "Which one of you is Lieutenant Garuru's partner?"

Garuru gestured me toward the laptop, and I shook my head. But then he shot me _that look, _and I knew I had to comply whether I wanted to or not.

"I am," I said, raising a hand sheepishly.

Kururu stared at me in bewilderment. "…_You?_"

"…Uh… me?"

"Hard to believe, right chief?" Taruru laughed.

"Oh, boy," Kururu fell back against his chair. "This is going to be more difficult than I thought."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Stella asked, putting her hand on a hip. I smiled weakly to her, not sure whether to feel good that someone was standing up to me, or just plain foolish that I wasn't able to do it myself.

Kururu folded his arms and replied coolly, "Nothing." He rose up a hand. "I might as well get started now, ku. Make some adjustments to fit your situation. _Good bye_." With a snap of his fingers, the computer switched off.

"…_Partners?_" Zoruru made a face. "We're anything _but_. Roommates, if anything, but nothing more."

"Well, we're partners now," Taruru quipped, taking his seat back on the table after Garuru hopped off. "Kururu is making it a requirement for us to work together in order to build our ship. And the Pekoponian girls-and Johnny- have already promised to help us out." He shrugged nonchalantly. "They practically always have been, Zoruru; since the very day they let us in their house to live in."

"I'd still like to think otherwise," Zoruru said coldly. "Making friends with these Pekoponians… it isn't a good idea."

"Hey, 'these Pekoponians' are still right here," Ruby reminded him, folding her arms. "And whether you believe it or not, we _are _your friends."

"So _deal _with it, Zoruru," Stella told him.

"Is this going to be my only line?" Kitty asked, looking at Rita. "That, or I'm just incredibly quiet today."

Her sister sighed overdramatically. "Kitty! What have I told you about the fourth wall?"

"Don't break it unless the author wants us to."

"Wh…what are you guys talking about?" I gave them a very, very strange look.

"Don't worry about it!" Rita said with a grin. "It's nothing to be _too _concerned about." She giggled as she watched me, as if she knew something I didn't.

"Where are we gonna sleep tonight?"

All of us looked down at Chiroro and Karara.

"…Oh. Um…" I scratched my neck. "I guess… if no one volunteers I could let you-"

"We accept!" Karara cried out, throwing an arm in the air (don't worry, it was still attached).

"Is that a good idea, Lieutenant?" Tororo whispered to Garuru, though it was still loud enough to be heard by everyone.

"If they have no where else to go…" Garuru said slowly, though I knew he was irritated that I was the one to make the offer.

* * *

_Karara and Chiroro were a handful. _

First, they would do nothing but talk, talk, talk, and _talk. _Especially about Garuru, much to the purple frog's chargrin. Then they got really picky about what they wanted to eat, finally settling on some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (evenly spread, no more, no less). Then they found our abundance of Disney movies, of which they proceeded to pick out movie after movie, arguing about whether they should watch 101 Dalmatians or The Little Mermaid, before settling on Shrek 2. Then they wanted popcorn. So I got them popcorn, only to remake another bag when they found it wasn't burned enough. And then remake _another _bag when they found it was _too _burned. And then when I got them the third bag, they lost their appetite for popcorn.

At 9:00 pm, they finally fell asleep on the couch, blankets messy around them.

I smiled tiredly, making sure they were comfortable on my bed before I went to the linen closet to find something to sleep on.

"You don't mind if I sleep near you, Lieutenant?" I had another sleeping bag in my arms, and was already setting it on the floor.

Garuru shook his head. "It's your room, may I remind you." He looked at the girls for a moment. "You're good with children."

"I love them," I said with a quiet chuckle. "I want to work with kids as a career. I'm planning on going to school for either a teacher or a speech therapist."

Garuru nodded absently. "You would do a good job."

"Thanks."

The purple Keronian settled into bed before he continued, "You may go now."

"…It doesn't have to be funny, right?"

"No."

"Alright." I took a deep breath. "I'm… I'm afraid of loud noises."

Garuru rose his brows. "…Loud noises?"

"Yeah. Weird, huh?" I was quiet for a moment. "…I don't know, Lieutenant. Just something about them. Once a teacher blew a whistle in the middle of class- just one shrill whistle- and I broke down in tears." I felt my face turn red, just embarrassed about revealing this. But I honestly couldn't think of anything else to say. "I'm sorry. That's all."

"…Thank you for sharing."

"Right…" I scratched the back of my head. "Um… you can go now, Lieutenant."

* * *

The odd thing was, Garuru always knew that Giroro had some sort of thing with Pururu when they were little.

Keroro and Giroro would often get in a fight about who would end up with her in the end, usually ending it with a fist break out, one or the other coming out with a bunch of dotted bruises and claiming that they had fallen down a hole or something.

Garuru had never met Pururu at one point; she was usually just mentioned at the table when their dad asked how their day was, or a picture drawn in crayon to show off on the fridge.

So it was no surprise that he recognized the name one day when his father had come to him with a job in mind.

"Babysitting?" Garuru asked dubiously.

"It shouldn't be too hard," His father said, writing down some information on a piece of paper. _No rock music while babysitting. Have them do their homework first (give them snacks too). Kids need to be played with. Bedtime no later than 9:00 pm. Bathes at 7:30 pm. Movie at 8:00 pm. DON'T FORGET TO FEED THE KIDS. Mac 'n cheese in the fridge. _

"Where are _you_ going?" Garuru inquired, noticing his father putting on a jacket.

"Drinking."

"No fair," Garuru folded his arms. "Why do I have to do this?"

"You need to learn responsibility anyway," His father said, a little too casually. "And besides; you're getting paid."

Garuru frowned at this and sighed. "Alright." He looked out the window. "Wait. It's still light out."

"Oh, is it?" It was amazing how genuinely surprised and disappointed he was at this piece of reality (although, _really, _he shouldn't have been). "I'll be upstairs in my room until then…"

Garuru read the piece of paper that his dad had written for him and was annoyed at the fact that he wasn't allowed to listen to any music, but decided that he could listen to it any other day. He placed four cups on the table and a platter of cookies in the middle, wondering whether they would be hungry for anything else when the rambunctious little rascals opened the door and ran inside.

"Guess what, guys?" Garuru planted his hands on his hips as Keroro, Giroro, Dororo, and Pururu settled comfortably in their seats and helped themselves to their cookies. "I'll be babysitting you today."

Keroro choked on his cookie. "W-_what?!_"

"You heard me."

"Cool!" Pururu's eyes grew large as they stared up at Garuru. "You're Giroro's brother, then?"

"Yes I am."

"You're in high school?"

"I am."

"Wow!" Pururu giggled. "I'm Pururu. I wanna be a nurse one day."

"And I'm sure you'll make a great nurse."

Pururu blushed, smiling down at her uneaten cookie.

Giroro made something of a mean glare to Garuru, and the older brother held up his hands defensively.

"So, like I was saying…" Garuru continued, "I'll be taking care of you guys until your parents come and pick you up. And Pururu… I think you're staying the night."

"_Good luck,_" Keroro whispered to her.

Pururu ignored him.

"So… homework," Garuru looked down at the four kids.

"What about it?" Keroro asked.

"Do you have any?"

"….Yeah…" Keroro drawled.

"…Are you planning on doing it…?"

"Maybe later," Keroro decided.

"No. Now."

"But I don't wanna…"

"Keroro." Garuru leaned close to him and stared hard. "_Now._"  
*

"I'm exhausted…" Keroro whined, slapping his pencil down, his cheek against the table.

"Wow, Giroro! Your brother actually got Keroro to finish his homework!" Pururu said admirably.

"Pft, I could do that…" Giroro muttered.

"No you can't," Dororo quipped innocently. "Neither can I. We tried a lot of times, remember?"

"_Shh._"

"Garuru!" Pururu waved her hand in the air, ushering the older brother toward her.

"Yeah, Pururu?"

"Can you help me with this equation?"

"Sure. What are you guys learning, anyway?" Garuru read her textbook. "Multiplication, huh?"

"I can multiply too!" Giroro snapped, sliding Pururu's textbook toward him. "See? Two times two equals four."

"I know that!" Pururu pouted. "I wanted to know if Garuru could teach me about the one hundreds."

"Oh, that isn't hard," Garuru reached for a pencil, only for his little brother to slap his hand away. "Gah! Giroro!"

"I got it," Giroro told Pururu, scribbling the numbers on the piece of paper. He looked worriedly at the equation after he was finished, however.

Garuru fought the urge to grin. "…Are you sure you know how to do it-?"

"_I know how to do it._"

"O-kay, then. Show me."

* * *

Garuru stopped short, watching me carefully. "You're tired, aren't you?"

"No… I could… still listen…"

Garuru shook his head, smiling slightly. "Just get some rest, Cadet. I'll tell you the rest in the morning…"

I was already asleep before he finished the rest of his sentence.

* * *

**I needed _some _way of making cliffhangers... *whistles innocently***

**So, yeah. Karara and Chiroro appear! Yayyy... I got the idea of Karara pursuing the Garuru Platoon from G66xD66's "Cotton". READ IT. You'll enjoy it, if you aren't already XD**


	18. Vengeance

**DAY EIGHTEEN, WORD EIGHTEEN: VENGEANCE**

* * *

I woke up, staring up in a dull start. Moonlight reflected off metal, making me squint.

"…Wha…?" I rubbed my eyes. "What are you-?"

"Silence."

A soft wind blew through the open window, making the curtains float slightly above the floor. The lampposts outside were dimmed somewhat, making the night all the more eerie and dark.

My eyes began to dilate, adjusting to the lack of light. In an instant I felt cold, a warm droplet of sweat sliding down my face, making me shiver at the sight in front of me.

"G-…Garuru," I whispered, my voice coarse. "G-Garuru…"

Knives scraped against each other as they slid out into sight, glistening. "No one's here to save you now."

"G-…G-Garuru…"

"Say my name."

I furrowed my eyebrows, not sure if I heard correctly. I let out a shuddering breath, my arms threatening to give out from under me. "…W…W-what….?"

"_Say my name!_"

I looked off to the side, amazed that the purple Keronian hadn't gotten up yet to inspect the noise and the source of the voices. I licked my dry lips, shaking as I sat up against the bed post.

"Z…Zoruru…" I said softly, afraid.

"Louder."

"…Wh…what-?"

"_LOUDER!_"

"_Zoruru!"_

"Good." The cybernetic ninja held his blade behind his head, a heated, merciless action in preparation for cold blooded murder. "Now die, Zeroro."

* * *

My eyes snapped open.

Garuru was looking over me curiously, his hands on his hips. "Cadet?"

…Oh, that's right… I was asleep on the floor….

I reached for my face, which felt warm and slightly wet. I bit my lower lip, and then looked at my fingers, expecting blood. To my absolute relief, it was just sweat.

"Are you okay?" Garuru asked hesitantly.

"I-I dunno," I murmured, shivering. I shook my head. "I just had a really, really scary dream…"

"…What was it about?"

"…Zoruru."

Garuru rose his brows in surprise. "Zoruru?"

"Yeah," I murmured. "It was just… i-it was just weird… I don't know… he was just… j-just towering over me, telling me to say his name, a-and…" I stared blankly across the sheets. "It felt so real… I honestly thought he was going to kill me…"

"It was probably a dream, Cadet," Garuru said with a small shrug. "Zoruru does have this aura about him that tends to frighten others, even other Keronians…"

"Who's Zeroro?"

Garuru twitched slightly, quickly looking back to me. "…What did you say?"

"Zeroro," I repeated. "He told me, 'die, Zeroro'." I paused, and then continued in meek explanation, "I-I mean… it sounds like a name… from your planet… and you did kind of mention someone by that name before, right? Still, it sounds…." I drifted off, watching Garuru in interest.

Garuru had stared at me, his pupils dilated. He finally lowered his eyes to the floor and shook his head. "It was a dream, Cadet. Don't think too much into it."

I didn't buy that.

I had this really creepy feeling that whatever I just dreamt, if I even dreamed it at all, was as real as the flesh on my skin.

"Mr. Johnny Cadet Sir!"

"_GAHCK!_" I felt my body flatten under the weight of the two hyperactive female Keronians, who were hopping mercilessly on my back.

"We're hungry!" Karara chirped.

"Can you guys at least make _some_ sort of an effort to refrain from breaking my spine?" I grunted, weakly getting to my knees as the two girls hopped off.

"We'll try!" Karara said with a small salute.

I sighed. "You're lucky you guys are cute."

"Thank you!" Karara and Chiroro sang, swinging the door open and running out.

"Be quiet, please!" I said in a loud whisper, Chiroro giving me a thumbs up before she turned the corner to the stairs with her sister.  
Garuru glanced at me. "Are you sure that no one will see them?"

"I doubt it," I said honestly. "It's pretty early; everyone should still be asleep." I paused. "…Um… Lieutenant?"

"Yes?"

"How long are they going to stay here?"

Garuru gave me an odd look. "…I had… assumed that you would be the one to answer that question."

"I mean," I scratched my head. "I thought that they had some way of getting home…?"

"They should," Garuru said, folding his arms. "…And now that I think of it… I do not recall their mentioning any spacecraft as their means of landing here." He looked at me again. "How exactly did you find them?"

I rubbed my back. "They sorta fell on me." Ain't that an understatement.

"They… fell on you? …With their space ship?"

"No. They literally fell on me. No ships, no U.F.O.s, no parachute… I think I was their landing cushion." I rested my hand on my mouth. "…Is this going to be a regular thing? I'm not going to be like, comic relief or anything?"

"Comic relief?"

"You know, it's like… never mind."

Garuru shook his head. Chiroro suddenly appeared at the door, looking up at me expectantly.

"What are you waiting for?" She asked quietly. "Aren't you gonna feed us?

"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah definitely." I stood up and pushed the sleeping bag away with my foot to keep it away from the door. "What do you guys want anyway?"

"Mmmmm!" Chiroro tapped her chin in thought. "I want cereal… though I'm not sure what sis wants…"

* * *

"Pancakes!"

I could feel my eye twitch. _Pancakes? _

"Yeah!"

Wanna hear what I do in the kitchen?

I burn water.

You know how when people say "I burn water", it's their joking way of saying they can't cook?…._I literally burn water._

I was asked to warm up some water for coffee -_COFFEE- _and I _burned the flipping water. _

I know several chapters ago (….no comment) I had said I made cookies, but really: all I did was take out the frozen dough, chop them up in tiny squares and assemble them in rows against the metal pan. Throw them in the oven, stare at the time, pull them out, and serve. _Voila. _

But this… this is _pancakes_. Pancakes don't come in frozen squares.

The house will burn with the fury of my lousy cooking skills.

That traumatizing thought kept me silent until one of the girls- Chiroro, I think- tugged on my pants leg. "….I can't make them. Sorry."

"But… but I want pancakes," Karara stuck her lower lip, playing the _absolutely cutest card _she had shown me as of yet.

"No, Karara… I'm so sorry…. It's not like I don't _want _to make you pancakes…-"

"Please…?" Her eyes got wider, if that was at all possible.

Sweat began to drip down my face. "N-no… Karara…"

"Pretty, pretty please with sprinkles on top?"

I couldn't take it. "I'll go get a pan."

"Yaay!" Karara danced victoriously on her chair, making it wobble.

"W-whoa, careful!" I held it steady. "You could fall off."

"I'll be fine," She assured me, patting my hand as if I was the little kid here. She gave Garuru a side glance before turning peacefully to me, "I'm tough. I can take it."

I could see Garuru resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Or laugh. It seemed he was combating the mixed feelings of amusement and discomfort to this lovesick girl.

….I coughed. "Right. Um." I placed the tiny black pan on the stove. "Okay… pancake mix…"

"You've made pancakes before?" Garuru perked a brow at me.

I smiled weakly. "Yeah?"

"You sound unsure."

"I-I have." They came out either raw, or burnt. _Prepare yourself. _… Wait. "Hey, do you guys like waffles?"

"Waffles?!" The two girls repeated eagerly.

"I'll take that as a yes," I chuckled, turning the stove off. "We have some frozen waffles in the freezer."

The sisters gave each other wide grins and nodded enthusiastically to me. "Yeah, yeah!"

"Alright." I opened up the freezer and pulled out the brand new box of chocolate chip flavored frozen thingies. "I'll put these in the toaster for you."

Saved by the bell.

Or, by the sudden realization that the freezer would come in handy once again. _Thank you, Freezer. _

"Garuru?" Karara plopped down on the shaky seat, watching her sister casually climb up to the one next to her.

"Yes?" The purple frog inquired, planting a hand on a hip.

"Do you like Nurse Pururu?"

"Of course I do."

The green Keronian snapped her attention back to him, her eyes wide with horror. "_You do?!_"

"Why not?" Garuru tilted his head slightly. "I think she's an excellent and valuable asset to our team. Our platoon would be nothing without her."

Karara looked positively grief-stricken. "How… how _could _you?!" Her eyes began to glimmer, the light making her eyes sparkle. The fact that she was crying probably helped the illusion.

"How… could I what?" Garuru frowned.

Karara sniffed, grabbing a paper napkin and wiping her tears. "I-I… can't _believe _it! I-I thought we were going to get married a-and stuff!"

Garuru gave me a side glance. "I'm afraid I still don't understand what you're talking about."

"You're lying!" Karara suddenly snapped, pointing a finger at him. "You're trying to keep the _both _of us 'cuz you're… you're just a _womanizer,_ Garuru!"

I ducked behind the counter, trying my hardest to stifle the laughter behind my hands.

Garuru wasn't pleased. "You make these claims, yet I still am unable to comprehend what you are talking about."

"G-…_Garuru you jerk!_" Karara let out a wail and hopped off her chair, running toward the front door. "_You will never understand a maiden's heart!_" The door slammed shut.

I winced, hearing the curious steps padding upstairs from my parents' room, walking around in irritation. The door shuttered as it opened, "Who's down there?"

I didn't reply at first. When my father repeated the question, I replied meekly, "I-it's me… Johnny…"

"What's going on down there?"

"U-um…"

Chiroro now looked horrified, shaking on the chair. Garuru gazed at her, and then at me cautiously.

"N-nothing…" I assured my father quietly. "I-I'm sorry. G-go back to sleep."

There was a sleepy, I'm-too-tired-to-take-care-of-it grunt. "Just keep it down." We heard the door close softly.

I sighed.

Unable to wait any longer, the remaining twin sister leapt from her seat and made a bee-line to the door.

"H-hey, wait!" I struggled to my feet and sped after her, Garuru close behind me.

* * *

It seems Karara was _waiting _for us to chase her, because she just stood there, nervously watching the house. When she saw the door open and the three of us spill out of it, she immediately turned heel and sprinted off.

Garuru cast a dramatic look at the sky before darting after her. "_Karara!_"

Chiroro and I saw him slow down slightly before speeding up even faster than before; and I could see why.

Karara was running across the street, completely oblivious to the world around her- completely oblivious to the roaring motorcycle headed her way. She stopped in the middle of the road, paralyzed, her eyes widening at the sight of the vehicle that was just getting closer and closer and closer…

"_Watch out, kid!_"

I blinked, and the motorcycle had already crossed, zigzagging slightly as if he had actually seen the little Keronian. He probably did, seeing as he swerved to a stop. He yanked off his helmet, and… oh.

He was a she.

"Was that you?!" She snapped, her dark eyes sparking.

Oops. I think I was supposed to stop running…

And maybe I'm stopping too fast…

And _maybe _I should have considered balancing myself so that I didn't fa-

Ow. Okay. The ground… doesn't taste that good. Mm. Just wanted to let you know.

I rubbed my sore face, blushing heavily as I realized that the girl was still glaring at me.

"I-I'm sorry," I muttered.

"So it _was _you!" The girl scowled, her brown-blonde hair falling down her face.

"W-well, n-no, r-really, n-no," I couldn't stop the stammer in my voice.

She immediately flung herself off the motorcycle and plopped her helmet on the back of the seat, marching over to me.

Ah-ha-ha. Not good. Not good at all.

I felt myself inching backwards on the ground.

"It's not safe to play around the streets, little boy," The girl said, almost coldly. "I could've gotten hurt."

Little boy?

Hm.

"I-I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted." She folded her arms. "Keep your toys out of the road and everyone'll be happy, got that?"

My mouth too dry to speak, I nodded.

"Good." She shot me a final glare. "Let this be a lesson. If I catch you one more time…"

"I-I got it," I stammered.

"Good," She repeated. She walked back over to her bike, pulled her helmet back on, started the motorcycle, and drove away.

My heart felt like a resonating drum, and my arms felt too weak to support me. So I just collapsed on my back, staring up at the sky.

"What I do for aliens…" I said under my breath.

A purple frog's face came into view of the pretty sky. "That was… quite a pitiful display, Cadet."

I grinned wryly. "I'll let you have the honors next time she comes looking to punch someone in the face."

Garuru rested a palm on his hip. "I'm guessing you've never been in a fight before?"

"I _told _you," I said, almost exasperated. I sat up, rubbing my still aching face. "I'm a lover, not a fighter." I paused. "…But I will fight for what I love and believe in, and it's typically not me."

Chiroro stopped us short. "Where's Karara?!"

"Up here!"

The three of us gazed up at one of the electric poles, Karara waving energetically in Zoruru's arms.

While I was relieved she was okay, the sight of the cyborg made me shiver upon recalling what I had dreamt mere hours prior. I took a tiny step back as Zoruru landed, the girl squealing happily as she squeezed him.

"I was around," He said in explanation, blushing slightly when Garuru gave him something of an amused stare. "_I-I was around, alright?!_ I had nothing better to do, and the kid was gonna get turned into road kill-…"

Apparently that's not why Garuru was so amused.

"You're my hero, Zoruru!" Karara cried out, bringing her hands together in what I guessed was a romantic gesture.

I saw a drop of sweat form on the organic side of Zoruru's face. "H…_h-huh?_"

"Here we go again," Chiroro said with a small grin.

"Garuru's a womanizer, so I'm over him now," Karara told the metal Keronian confidently, eyes glimmering. "I will be forever yours, Zoruru!" She sighed, a hand at her heart. "My knight in shining armor!"

While he wasn't too happy about being called a 'womanizer', Garuru saw the complete irony of the girl's statement, and perked a brow at Zoruru, who was waving his arms in crazy motions. The poor cybernetic alien was trying desperately to dissuade Karara, but she simply shook her head, misinterpreting his stutters as humble acts of affection, or something weird like that.

"I'll come back for you, my love!" Karara said sweetly, blowing a kiss in his direction.

Zoruru grimaced and immediately dashed off (I guess it finally just came to him that he could have done that any time), the only trace of his existence the flash of light off his metal.

"Sis…" Chiroro gently poked her sister's shoulder. "I'm starting to get real thirsty…"

Hm. I was wondering when they were going to get dry.

I could actually see their skin losing the majority of their sheen, their bright colors beginning to dull.

"L-let's get back to my house, okay?" I suggested.

They didn't need me to say it twice.

* * *

"Don't worry about it," Karara told me dismissively, shoveling a forkful of waffle in her mouth. She swallowed before she continued, "Daddy is gonna pick me and Chiroro up in a little bit."

"Thanks for letting us stay over, mister," Chiroro said after finishing her orange juice. "We really appreciate it."

"Do you know where Zoruru is staying?" The other twin asked me.

"I, um…" I looked at the ceiling. "..He's staying at someone's house, although I don't know where that house is exactly-"

"Oh, pooh!" Karara pouted. "You're just keeping it a secret because you want to keep him all to yourself!"

I hacked on my toast.

"…What?" I stared at her in shock. It took a few more seconds to _fully _comprehend what she said, and my face paled at the realization. "_What?!_"

"That's right, I found out your little secret!" Karara said, wagging a finger at me. "And I'm sorry, but you can't have him! If you do, you'll have to go through _me._"

"W-…_what _secret?!" I stammered, my face beginning to take on a pink color. "I _don't _like guys! Or species other than the human race!"

"Oh really?" Karara looked genuinely surprised. "Oh. Okay." And that was it. She continued eating her breakfast as if she never brought up that frogging awkward statement.

…._Frogging? _

Great. I'm starting to talk like them.

And from the corner of my eye I could see Garuru turning away, trying his absolute hardest not to laugh at my predicament.

Ugh. That's just cold.

"Changing the subject," I said with an embarrassed sigh, "Do you girls want to play Clue?"

"Clue?" Chiroro repeated, tilting her head at me.

"It's a murder mystery game," I told her. I pulled out the book-shaped box from the game board chest at the corner and showed it to her as I explained the rules.

She honestly looked interested, gently poking her sister with the game board.

"Do you think you might want to play?" I asked.

"Yeah!" She chirped. "C'mon, Karara!"

Karara made a bit of a face at the game, looking oppositely uninterested, but consented anyway and gave in to her twin sister's pleads.

"You gonna play, Lieutenant?" I looked over at him and was mildly disappointed when I saw he had controlled the urge to even so much as grin. He had somehow retained that nuetral frown throughout that whole humiliating display.

"Tororo has been trying to contact me," Garuru said, his attention squarely on the little device in his hand. "Unfortunately because of…" He gestured toward Karara, who wasn't really looking at him anyway and had no reason to be offended. "…I wasn't able to take his call."

"I wonder what happened?" I mused.

"I hope it isn't to complain again," Garuru muttered. "The last time he contacted me was concerning about the girls he was residing with, and then about Taruru. I'm trusting in the fact that this is an important message-"

"Are we gonna play, Mr. Johnny Cadet Sir?" Chiroro interrupted him, her eyes growing wider.

So cute. Can't resist…

"Sure," I smiled. "Um. Okay." I nodded to the Lieutenant. "You do that then. I'll keep the girls out of your way."

"Much obliged."

* * *

"It was Mr. Green, in the Dining Room, with the Rope."

I blinked at Chiroro, whose face barely reached the table at her height. I rested my cheek on my hand and grinned. "Mhm. You sure about that? Don't forget what happens when you make an accusation."

"I know," Chiroro smiled nervously. "But I still wanna see if I got it."

Karara was nibbling on a cookie. "She's smart, Mr. Cadet. I bet she's got it."

"Alright then," I said, handing her the black slip where the answers were. "Go ahead and see if you have it."

Chiroro eagerly took the slip and pulled the cards out… her face fell, and she looked like she wanted to cry.

"I was wrong…" She whimpered.

"…Aww, I'm sorry," I said gently, reaching over to touch her back.

"I lost, didn't I?" She put the cards back in the slip. "…Cuz I saw them, right?"

I gave her a sad face. "I'm sorry."

"Well, if she lost, then I lost," Karara declared, slapping her cards down on the table. She gave me a half-hearted shrug. "This game was boring anyway."  
I opened my mouth to say something when sudden, enormously loud blasts of air were heard above my roof. I stared up at the ceiling in horror. My whole family were sleeping upstairs…

"Wh-who is that?"

"Daddy," Chiroro and Karara quipped with a nod.

"Oh," I bit my finger, not sure to be relieved that they were finally going home or terrified that their father might wake everyone up. "Really? U-um. Okay…"

"We're going to need to go on the roof," Chiroro said, glancing upwards.

"…You guys can go through my window?" I offered weakly. The window in my room did lead up to the roof, though I never actually attempted going up there myself. Most short people, I learned, are afraid of heights. _Ironic, no? _

As I took them up the stairs, I heard Karara murmur to Chiroro, "You don't think daddy is gonna get mad at us for losing our ship?"

Chiroro waved her hand dismissively. "We got attacked by a monster. It wasn't our fault!"

Monster?

"Do you think he'll really believe us?"

"Might. Though I think he will. I'll explain it to him!"

Karara pouted. "Lucky. Being daddy's favorite…"

Chiroro beamed at this, casually bringing her hands together behind her back as she followed me to the window. Then she looked uneasily at it. "Um… Mr. Cadet?"

"Yeah?"

"…Are you going to… um… come with us?"

My lips twitched at this. "Huh?"

"We don't want to fall," Karara explained. "We'll be safe with you; gravity seems to like you better."

Haha… _so I wasn't the only one who noticed it. _

"Fine," I sighed. "I'll go first."

* * *

And then I found myself waking up. Garuru was looking down at me, his arms folded in on each other.

"…Wh… what happened?" I muttered.

"You fell off the roof," He said bluntly.

I groaned as I pulled myself off the pavement of my front yard and felt my head. "…_Ow._" I then remembered, and looked around. "Hey. The girls-"

"-are with their father," Garuru finished. He turned to look up at my house. "Funny. The girls predicted it would happen. They were the ones who told me to look for you outside your house when their father picked them up much earlier today."

"Really?" I asked dryly. I rubbed my eyes. "I just… let's go inside, okay?"

* * *

"Johnny! What were you doing outside? …In your pajamas?"

I gave a wry smile to my mom; a woman only an inch taller than me, with brown hair that fell down to her shoulders, bangs that fell flat to the sides of her round face. She was frowning at me, her hands at her waist.

I could smell the breakfast coming from the kitchen: eggs, made courteously by my father.

"I, um… I fell."

"…What?"

"I fell off the, um… the roof."

My mom stared at me. "…_What?_"

"I went to get the newspaper," I said flatly, deciding it was probably just better to lie than to explain everything with the aliens that have graciously made my life a living shoe. "It didn't come today."

My mom perked a brow but said nothing more, instead turning to the source of the delicious scents from the other room.

"...Hey. Hey, wait, mom?"

She turned back to me. "Yes?"

"...Did you hear anything funny earlier?"

Mom shook her head. "No. Why?"

"...No reason," I scratched the back of my neck. "Okay. You could, um. Go eat now."

She smiled at my 'permission' and promptly left, disappearing around the corner.

"Lieutenant?" I whispered, tiredly reaching for the staircase.

Garuru looked at me, apparently but unsurprisingly invisible to the eyes of my parent. "Yes?"

"You guys… you guys owe me _big time _for this."

* * *

You know, there's this little thing called 'Time Skip'. No, it's not a movie. Or a book. Or a song. Or at least… I don't think so.

…_Anyway. _I'm time skipping to that night, or rather, that evening, when the sun was beginning to set.

I sighed, exhausted. "This stupid paper…" I leaned against my pillows, the laptop humming as it sat right in front of me. "Lieutenant? Did you ever have to write a senior paper?"

"Yes," Garuru said, smoothing out the sleeping bag on the floor.

"What was yours about?"

"I was assessing the mental capabilities between Keronians and the planets we invade."

"What grade did you get on it?"

Garuru sat down on his bed. "I did well enough."

I tilted my head. "Is that your way of being modest, or that you just didn't fail?"

Garuru's lips twitched slightly. "I'm being modest."

I rolled my eyes. "You were the golden boy, weren't you?"

"I don't understand what that means."

"I mean, you, um…" I stopped briefly to type something down. "…you were just perfect. Yeah. I guess, to others, you were considered 'perfect'. Good grades, good job, good family-"

"_I'm not_," Garuru said, his sharp words slicing through mine. "…I'm not."

The instant I said 'good family' the purple frog looked down, his fists clenching, even shaking when you paid attention close enough.

I bit my lower lip, remembering the incident with my mentioning his mom.

"…So!" I said, suddenly closing my laptop. Better change the subject. "Did you know that elephants will rule the world someday?"

That got his attention. He shot his head back up at me, staring at me in bewilderment.

"…_What?_"

"I'm seventeen, and I'm Johnny years old," I continued, bringing my arms at my sides and leaning against them. And yes, I said that intentionally; I do that on purpose when I want to introduce myself as a silly person (which... I'll be honest, isn't often). "I like the color orange, brown, and gray, and my favorite animals are bats. I like the book Silverwing, I draw, and I write poetry. I'm 4'11. Done. Now it's your turn."

Garuru continued to blink at me, speechless at my random burst of outright useless information.

"It's your turn," I repeated, waving my hand lazily. "Go on from your story from last night."

The Lieutenant seemed to finally bring himself back from his dazed, startled reverie. Really, he should learn by now that I'm kind of random. Or, at least, he should know. Hm. I guess that was a little out of character of me, seeing that I've been more kind of nervous around him…

Gah. I'm letting this insanity about aliens suck me into a black hole that will never again let me out to reality. Darn you, fate._ Darn you all to heck._

* * *

"I can multiply too!" Giroro snapped, sliding Pururu's textbook toward him. "See? Two times two equals four."

"I know that!" Pururu pouted. "I wanted to know if Garuru could teach me about the one hundreds."

"Oh, that isn't hard," Garuru reached for a pencil, only for his little brother to slap his hand away. "Gah! Giroro!"

"I got it," Giroro told Pururu, scribbling the numbers on the piece of paper. He looked worriedly at the equation after he was finished, however.

Garuru fought the urge to grin. "…Are you sure you know how to do it-?"

"_I know how to do it._"

"O-kay, then. Show me."

Giroro sucked the top of his lip, staring nervously at the complicated equations on the light purple tadpole's book. "Um…"

"You sure you don't need help, Giroro?" Garuru rested his hands on his waist.

Giroro grumbled about how big brothers always thought they were 'all that' and promptly shoved the thick math book toward him. "_Here._"

"It's not that hard," Garuru assured them. "It's kind of like the tens. Just add another zero behind it." He scribbled on a blank sheet of paper and showed it to them. "See? Easy."

"Thanks," Pururu said, her eyes glazed slightly in dreaminess.

Keroro frowned at this, not at all enjoying the attention that was not given to him. "Hey, Pururu!"

The girl looked at him. "Yes?"

"Do you know how to draw a flower?"

"A… a flower?" Pururu made a face. "Of course I know how to draw a flower!"

"What about a heart?"

"Yes, I know how to draw a heart!" She pointed at her tummy. "I have one!"

"It's right _here, _silly," Zeroro giggled, poking gently at her chest. "It's not in your tummy!"

Garuru chuckled slightly. "I think she was talking about her insignia, Zeroro."

"Huh? …_Oh._" Zeroro blushed. "S-sorry."

"What about a skull?" Giroro prompted, tapping Pururu's shoulder.

Pururu hesitated a moment before attempting to draw one on the sheet of paper that Garuru had written on. It came out sloppy, but that was to be expected for an elementary school child. "Like… that?"

"Yeah! Like that!" Giroro held up the paper. "It looks just like mine!"

"What about a star?" Keroro asked her eagerly. "Can you draw a star?"

Pururu giggled. "Yeah, I can. I'll draw you one now."

Garuru sat back and watched the kids fuss over her drawings of the star and later diamond-shaped thingy that none of them knew the name to (Zeroro's insignia, I think).

"Draw Garuru's… thing," Keroro said, gesturing with a finger to the older brother's forehead.

"Huh?" Garuru pointed at his hat. "You mean this?"

"What _is _that, anyway?" Keroro asked.

"Um…" The purple Keronian frowned in thought. He stood up and walked over to the mirror that hung on the wall. "…I think… it's some sort of… wolf?"

"_Garu!_"Pururu began to laugh. "_Garu, garu!_ That's the sound a wolf makes when he howls. _Garu_! That's so cool!" She took the sheet of paper that she used to draw Giroro's insignia and tried to draw Garuru's. "Oh," She murmured. "This one's in the way." She erased the skull.

"But-"

Someone outside rang the doorbell.

"I got it," Garuru walked over to the door and looked through the peephole. "Keroro! Zeroro! Your moms are here!"

"Aww," Zeroro whimpered, but Keroro snatched his for-once-in-his-lifetime completed homework and darted toward the entrance.

"Bye!" Keroro waved, more than excited to leave. "GOOD LUCK PURURU!"

Zeroro gave a meek salute to Garuru before he walked out with his mom.

"So," Garuru closed the door. "You guys hungry?"

"I am!" Pururu raised an arm.  
"You guys want to have some macaroni and cheese?"

"No," Giroro said, interrupting Pururu's 'yes'. He blinked up at his brother, a devious glint in his eye. He smiled calmly and folded his arms. "…I want you to make us something."

"…Make… you something?" Garuru repeated slowly.

"Yup." Giroro turned to his friend. "Garuru makes the best food _ever. _Once, a six star chef wanted to hire him."

"_What?_" Garuru and Pururu exclaimed, the latter in admiration, the former in shock.

"Really?!" Pururu turned to look up at him, her hands intertwined with each other.

The older brother was waving his hands in crazy motions. "D-don't look at me like that! I don't know where Giroro-"

"You'll make us something, right?" Giroro asked, his eyes wide. He stuck out his lower lip, his face an adorable representation of something called big-brother-worship. "Right?"

* * *

They asked for it.

"What _is _this?" Pururu poked at the white gelatinous substance with a finger.

"I think it just talked to me," Giroro jabbed his own with his fork. "It said, 'eat me and you die'."

Garuru was wearing a white apron (and I envisioned '_Kiss the Chef_', and tried not to laugh too hard when he shot me a confused look), a wooden spoon in hand.

Oh, they asked for it.

"Aren't you guys going to try it?" Garuru inquired indignantly.

"No thanks," Giroro folded his arms. "I plan on living tomorrow."

"You were the one who wanted me to make you guys something!"

"It smells funny," Pururu noted dully.

"It can't be that bad," Garuru said, rolling his eyes. He bit a sample to demonstrate but spit it out before his tongue fully tasted it.

Giroro erupted in a fit of giggles.

"Okay, it's that bad." Garuru grabbed their plates and tossed them in the sink. "Do you guys want me to make macaroni and cheese now?"

"Okay," Giroro slid off his chair. "Can we watch TV while you do that?"

Garuru nodded, turning back to the refrigerator to get the planned ingredients for the meal. He set everything inside a small pan and turned on the stove.

"I guess I'll wash the dishes meanwhile," Garuru murmured to himself. He walked over to the sink and was surprised to see that Giroro's and Pururu's plates were… clean. He examined them for a moment, then going down to the other room to see the two tadpoles watching the television. "Hey. Um. Giroro?"

"Yeah, bro?"

"…Did you wash the dishes?"

Giroro shook his head. "Why?"

Garuru gazed uncertainly to Pururu. "Pururu?"

"No," Pururu sat up. "Do you want me to-?"

"No, no, it's just-"

Something roared behind him. Pururu screamed.

"Garuru!" She cried out. "Watch out!"

The purple frog dodged to the side, narrowly escaping the large white gelatinous blob that had reached out to grab him.

"…You've _got _to be frogging me," Garuru said, his voice tired and impatient. He materialized a gun and aimed it toward the creature, shooting it repeatedly. The bullets, unfortunately, were absorbed through the food-reject. "Guys!" Garuru whipped his hand behind him. "Hide behind the sofas!"

The two tadpoles immediately did as they were told, occasionally peeking over to observe Garuru's fight with the dinner that he created.

Let's just say they were glad they talked him out of eating it.

"This isn't _working,_" Garuru growled to himself. He tossed the weapon away and summoned a grenade, biting the pin off the top and tossing it to the now gurgling monster.

The white gelatin swallowed it, giving off a loud shriek before it again lunged toward Garuru.

The purple frog cursed, then materializing a light sword. He ran toward it to strike it… when the white blob exploded.

Turns out the grenade did work after all.

"…_Ugh,_" Garuru wiped the white stuff off his face. "_Ugh!_" The girl was right. It did smell.

"So it was alive after all," Giroro said, his eyes widening at this. "Huh. Note to self: don't let Garuru in the kitchen." He observed the mess. "Dad isn't going to like this."

"Yeah, I know." Garuru flicked some more of the gunk off his arm. "I'll clean it."

"Our mac and cheese isn't going to turn into a monster too, is it?" Pururu asked fearfully.

"…That won't count," Garuru said assuredly, though in all honesty, he wasn't too sure himself. He sighed. "Let me go wash up, okay? And then I'll serve you your dinner, and then I'll… clean up this mess…" He turned grudgingly to the kitchen, only to be stopped by Pururu, who grabbed on to his cleaner arm.

"Garuru?" She looked up at him sweetly. "If it's any consolation to you, I think you looked really cool."

"…Thank you," Garuru said slowly.

Pururu beamed and released him, skipping over to her friend. She said something to him, to which the red frog turned even redder, if that was at all possible.

Garuru didn't have to worry too much about his dad finding the mess before he cleaned it. He had found him passed out on his bed with a beer bottle on one hand and some sort of rerun of a soap-opera on the tv screen.

…Garuru assumed that even if his father ever did find out, he could always blackmail him out of getting grounded by recalling the tragic tale of how the beautiful Sarara lost her husband Putoto to a dog to Garuru's father's friends.

* * *

"Wow," I said with a grin. "You were really different back then, Lieutenant. Almost like two different… um. Frog aliens."

Garuru gave a small shrug.

"Hey," I gently prodded him with a stick (yes, a stick. I own one in my room; his name is Harry). "I just remembered. What did Tororo wanted to talk to you about?" I paused briefly. "…Um, you know… if it isn't too personal."

Garuru waved me off. "It's fine. It concerns you, actually."

I rose my eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yes. Sergeant Major Kururu sent the first of the parts that are needed to rebuild my spaceship… including the first of a series of tests we are required to participate. We begin tomorrow."

* * *

**I did not mean to make this part so long XDDD I'm so, so sorry! **

**Anyway! The next chapter (I've been eager to write it; Stella knows XD) will actually be something more oriented toward the actual anime.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	19. My Inspiration- Pt 1

**DAY NINETEEN, WORD NINETEEN: MY INSPIRATION**

* * *

_Squeak, squeak, squeak._

Garuru jumped slightly, turning to me with calm surprise. His eyes flickered down to the object in my possession."…What is that?"

"A rubber ducky," I said cheerfully, squeezing the plastic toy.

"…Where did you get that?"

"Dollar store." _Squeak._ "I heard you liked them."

Garuru looked mildly annoyed. "Where did you hear that?"

_Squeak. _"Pururu."

He swatted it away, and it fell to the carpet with a soft thud-squeak. "What time is it?"

I pulled out my cell phone and examined the screen. "It's two-thirty."

"We should be on our way, then," Garuru said as he stood up from the floor and dissolved the sniper rifle he had in his hands. He had been disassembling and reassembling each weapon that he would materialize, being bored without anything else to do. Poor guy.

"I'll go get the hose ready," I said, running out.

Garuru followed close behind me.

* * *

All of us stood around a heavy, silver metallic box. It had blue lines on it for the design, weaving in and out, hanging loosely onto each other. The lines would occasionally pulse as the neon-like color flashed by. Something protruded from the top, a round dark blue button with a yellow crown on it.

"…Cool," I said, blinking at it.

"I'm so excited!" Rita said to her sister, who was smiling gently.

"You shouldn't be," Tororo scowled, irritated. "Who knows what the old man came up with!"

"It might be fun," Taruru said, puckering his lips out. He gave a wide grin when the tadpole glared at him. "He said it's like a game, after all."

"You sure it's safe?" Ruby asked, inserting her hands into the front pocket of her gray jacket.

"It might," Kitty said softly. "I don't think his goal would be to intentionally kill us… we're just supposed to experiment something for him."

"Plus, it's a game," Taruru repeated. "You can't get killed in a game."

"You'd be surprised," Stella and Zoruru said simultaneously. She smirked at the assassin, who looked annoyed.

"I know Sergeant Major Kururu personally," Pururu piped up. "He's not one to intentionally harm others." She paused. "…Err, kill, is… um… probably the better word…"

"We might as well get this over with, then," Garuru sighed. He turned to Tororo. "What exactly are we supposed to do with this, New Recruit?"

"…Press the button, with everyone at least a foot within radius of the cube," Tororo read from his laptop. "Huh. The creep said that we'll be given further instruction when we begin the simulation."

All of us looked around warily.

"Okay," I said with a small nod. "Go ahead and press it, Lieutenant."

Garuru cautiously reached down and pressed down against the button.

We were consumed by a bright white flash.

* * *

I blinked rapidly, trying to adjust my eyes to the light. I moaned, rubbing them with my arm. "Ugh…"

"Is everyone present?"

"My eyeessss…."

"_That stupid Kururu…!"_

"After I regain my senses…"

My eyes now well adjusted, I took note of the landscape around me. It looked remarkably cheerful; the setting took place in a foresty area, with grass that stretched on for acres, sweet little flowers blowing gently in the wind. The clouds drifted lazily against the blue sky. And trees… so many trees…

"Welp. I know for a fact that we're not in Arizona anymore," I confirmed at the vegetation. If you were on a plane over Arizona, the first thing you would notice was the lack of green; seriously, the land… it's pretty much brown, especially where I live.

"…Huh? What the frog am I wearing?!"

"Hm?" I turned to Zoruru, and was startled to see he was wearing clothes. Clothes. Seeing these frog aliens that walked around with nothing but a hat and an insignia on their belly; the only one excluded being the Lieutenant, who at least wore a belt strapped against his chest.

Zoruru wore a green long sleeve with a faded brown vest that rested against it, long brown cuffs that extended to his elbow. A thin leather belt with his three-star insignia on the center was slung tightly across his chest area, a brown bag hanging from his back carrying arrows. Black pants and brown boots, strings tied in crosses at his ankles. On his robotic arm, instead of metal spikes, sat a crossbow, though in all honesty was still quite as threatening as his original weapons. A green hood hung loosely over his head, casting small shadows over his already intimidating face.

"You actually look pretty cool," I said. "Wait. You weren't wearing that before, were you-?"

"Of course I wasn't, you idiot," Zoruru hissed.

"I'M GONNA KILL HIM!"

I jumped, startled, and immediately turned to the source of the voice.

It was Tororo, wearing… a cute red hood, its long cape trailing down his back. It was tied around his nonexistent neck by a red bow, the weird green symbol on the center, with small white frills laced at the end. In his hand he had a basket with a napkin with the similar lacy pattern draped over it. He was absolutely seething with fury. "HE DID THIS ON PURPOSE!"

"Ha! You look so silly!" Clunk!

Taruru was covered in metal armor. Two metal pads rested against his shoulders, his hands exposed, the cuffs reaching up all the way up his arms. His shoes were connected with his leg pieces, reaching up all the way up this hips. A thin belt with a sheath carried a large sword, the center of the hilt with his own teardrop shaped insignia, that swayed carelessly on his side. His helmet was one of ancient, medieval design; it reached down to his shoulders, and the only visible part of his face were his eyes, courtesy of the peep holes on the center of said helmet.

Taruru laughed and pulled the front of his helmet over his eyes. "Hey! This is pretty cool!"

I looked around to the Lieutenant.

He looked understandably irritated; he had a dark purple shirt that hung loosely over his torso, exposing his chest, his original belt tied against it. His sleeves were long that ended just short of his wrist, a small golden pattern at the cuffs. A white cape was draped over his shoulder, an upside down 'A' dominating the middle of it. Loose white pants and black shoes. A crown sat on his head; that immediately brought to mind the design on the button he had pressed just minutes prior. And he had somehow retained that golden visor…

…I just noticed they still had their normal hats on. Huh. Must be a must-have for Keronians….

"…I am angry," Garuru said, his fists clenching in.

"Did I ever say that you guys look strange with clothes on?" I asked.

"Pfft. See what you're wearing yet?" Taruru asked, raising an eye ridge. He observed me. "You actually don't look that different from Garuru."

"H-huh?" I hastily looked down at my own outfit. True to his word, I was wearing something similar to the Lieutenant's, except my own cape was draped against both my shoulders and was held together by a silver string that intertwined against the chest. A small belt that encircled my waist held a sheathe like Taruru's, except it was thinner, and a little smaller. I reached up and paled when my finger came to contact with sharp points; no doubt the same crown Garuru was currently wearing. I felt my face heat up. "O-oh dear."

"Ku-ku-ku-ku-ku! You like~?"

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU OLD MAN!" Tororo screamed, waving his basket in the air.

A small television-like invention hovered in the air, an antenna sticking out with a little yellow ball at the end, a red swirl being its design. The yellow Keronian was grinning at us, his chin resting against his hands. "So you do like it! Ku-ku! Excellent~"

Garuru held out his arms in preparation of materializing another weapon, probably to blast Kururu's smug face to pieces. Instead of the expected rifle, however, a long thin sword was summoned in its place. He dropped it in subtle but sure shock.

"Ku-ku! Seeing as the weapons I had programmed you with are more than likely ones that you're unfamiliar with, I designed them so that the only requirement to your using them in accuracy. You got good accuracy, you can use the weapon."

Garuru gave me a glance, and I smiled weakly. He face palmed. We're doomed.

"Ku-ku-ku! Ready to begin the game~?"

"Question," Garuru said calmly, though the anger was easily felt through the overbearing aura he was emitting. "…Why are we doing this, Sergeant Major Kururu?"

"Ku-ku!" I could tell that this yellow frog was enjoying this too much. "You see, I wanted to see what you, an A-Class Platoon, would do under certain situations, ku. So, I designed different simulations so that I could see your progress, in which case if the event were to happen to us, we could simply avoid whatever mistakes you make and follow your example."

Garuru seemed slightly impressed by this idea, but when he remembered the real issue at hand, he frowned. "I see. But why are we wearing…" He looked at his wrist. "…this?"

"Ku-ku-ku! Just wanted to get into the spirit," Kururu said cheerfully. "My inspiration came from the European and Western fairytales; just thought it would be creative as the first simulation since you ended up in America, after all."

"THAT DOESN'T EXPLAIN WHY I'M DRESSED LIKE THIS, OLD MAN!" Tororo yelled, shaking his basket even harder. It literally looked like a wild, frenzied blur.

"Proceeding with the instructions of the game," Kururu continued gleefully, ignoring yet still very clearly amused by the enraged tadpole. "Ku-ku-ku! This game has five levels." He held out his hand and stretched out five chubby fingers. "Each one you complete, you will activate a part to your spacecraft, ku. They all come in different weights and sizes, but you won't exactly be given them until you finish the final level. That way you don't have to lug it around as you play the activities, ku."

"What kind of levels are they?" I asked slowly.

Kururu grinned at me, and I shuddered. Something about that face…

"Didn't you notice that you're missing some members of your team?"

"…Huh?" And that's when I realized it. I looked around urgently. "H-hey! Where's the girls?!"

"Chief Medic," Garuru muttered, as the others also began to look around. He shot a disastrous look toward Kururu. "Where is Pururu?"

"Ku~! They're the levels," Kururu said in explanation. He leaned against his chair and bent his arms behind his head. "Mm~ in Tororo's basket, there is map. It'll tell you where to go."

"And you'll just be watching us?" Zoruru asked dryly. I could tell he was extremely tempted to tear apart that floating device, though it wasn't exactly plausible as his weapon had been exchanged for a cross bow.

"Ku-ku! This is a recording~"

_Riiiight._

Tororo muttered something vile as he searched in his basket. "Here." He gave it to Garuru.

"Ku-ku-ku! Boy."

I looked toward the little hovering device. "Y-yes?"

"Ku. Did you know originally you weren't supposed to be among the Garuru Platoon?" He gave a weak chuckle. "Yes. You were supposed to go with the other Pekoponians, except I had programmed something that pretty much makes you a requirement to finish the game."

I tilted my head. "…What is that?"

"Ku. Considering you're the weakest of the five, I suppose I'll provide you with a hint." Kururu pointed at me. "You're the only one that can produce body heat. Think about that."

I was absolutely confused. "But that doesn't-"

"Ku! Figure it out on your own. It's a game, after all." Kururu snapped his fingers, and the screen went dark.

I sighed.

... Okay. Fairytales. Being the unreasonable creature that I was, I decided to go ahead and figure out what we were all dressed as. Fairytales...

"Little Red Riding Hood," I said, looking at Tororo.

Tororo blinked at me. "Huh?"

"Little Red Riding Hood," I repeated. "I think that's what you're dressed up as."

"…Who's that?"

"A little girl who-"

Tororo looked like he wanted to punch something.

I laughed weakly. "Okay, okay…"

"And me?" Taruru asked eagerly. "Who am I supposed to be?"

I twisted my features in thought. "…I think you're supposed to be a Knight in Shining Armor."

"Cool," Taruru said with a grin.

"And you…" I cupped my hand on my chin as I looked at Zoruru, who didn't really look like he could give a flying shoe. "…I think you're Robin Hood."

"And you guys?" Taruru's helmet fell over his face again. Clunk. He gave a chuckle as he pulled it back up.

"I… um… I don't know," I said honestly, examining my clothing again. "I.. guess we're some sort of prince-?"

"This way," Garuru said as he curled up the map. He gestured toward a direction through the woods. "The first level is inside this forest."

"Right." I felt my heart thud against my chest as a particular thought came to mind. "…I hope the girls are alright."

"Pururu could handle herself," Garuru told me confidently. He handed the map to Tororo, who took it and shoved it inside his basket.

"But the other girls…?"

Garuru paused, then turned to look at me. "…I'm sure they're fine, Cadet."

* * *

We didn't have to walk very long. We soon came across a little old cottage, its look modest in appearance. A cute little garden was planted near the front porch, with a pebbly trail leading up to the front door. I looked at it uncertainly.

"Are you going to knock the door?" Garuru asked me.

Haha… not again.

"Um…"

"I got it!" Taruru ran up to it and rapped his knuckles against the wooden frame. The front of his helmet fell back over his face. Thunk.

The four of us walked up behind him just as the tiny brass knob began to turn. The door creaked as it opened, and an older, thin, sharp-boned woman gazed tiredly at us. "What can I do for you-…" As soon as she saw me and Garuru, her eyes gleamed. She opened the door wider. "May I help you?"

"We're looking… for our female companions," Garuru said in explanation.

"Female companions?" The woman beamed. "As in, a wife?"

I was startled by her random exclamation. "N-no, no! They're friends. We're missing our friends. We were wondering where they were at-"

"Like?"

"Um…"

"How about Rita?" Taruru piped up. The woman gazed down at him. He smiled back up to her. "She's about… taller than him," he jerked a thumb toward me, "Short brown hair, big forehead, real cheerful-"

"Never heard of her." The woman said, albeit too quickly. She gazed at us hopefully. "Would you like to introduce you to my daughters-?"

"N-no," I said, stammering. "I-it's fine. W-well, how about a girl about… yay height," I embarrassedly held my arm over me, "Long brown hair, grey sweater-"

"No."

"Um… okay… Girl about this height, short black hair, glasses-"

"No."

"What about a girl with a slightly darker skin tone than mine, with short black hair and little thin glasses-?"

"No."

"….A purple frog-?"

"Now you're just mocking me," The woman complained. "Are you here to pick a wife or aren't you?"

I bit my lower lip. "W-well, no-"

She slammed the door in our faces.

I sighed. "Well, I guess we better keep looking. Where else, Garuru?"

Tororo handed him the map.

"It's blank," Garuru said with a frown, turning it over. "It seems that the level is here; in this exact spot."

"It is based off of a game," Taruru whistled. "Probably a video game; Kururu probably didn't want us to get lost or to skip one of our levels."

"So, what, we just walk around?" I asked, beginning to circle the house.

Zoruru rolled his eye. "This is idiotic. We can't just wander through the whole forest expecting to have the one thing that we need to accomplish our task hit us on the head-"

Bonk!

"O-ow!" I whimpered, rubbing my scalp.

"Hey!"

I looked over shoulder, the source of whoever threw that rock nearly doubling me over. "Rita!"

"Hi!" The girl was waving at a window, wearing what I assumed were a ragged dress, square patches clumsily sewn on the sleeves and around the torso. One patch in particular bore a symbol similar to Taruru's; it was stitched over the heart of the blouse of her dress. She had some dark smears across her face, and her hair was slightly untidy, but I digress. I was happy to see her.

"Hey!" I said, relieved. "I was wondering when we were gonna find you!"

She blinked at me, and then stifled a giggle. "…What are you wearing?"

"U-um." I coughed nervously into a closed palm. "…I don't know. I-I'm sorry."

Rita laughed. "Why are you apologizing? It's fine."

"So are you going to climb out?" I asked her.

She shrugged sadly. "I can't."

"What?" I looked at the open window curiously. "Why not?"

She held out her hands and demonstrated, her palms going flat against an invisible force field. "I can't, see? There's like this… bubble. I could throw stuff out, but I can't get out."

"This could be problematic," Garuru said, walking up to me. Apparently the others stayed behind, hoping to conceal their embarrassing costuming.

Rita was laughing fully now. "Are the rest of the others dressed like that?"

"…Unfortunately," Garuru said, no doubt feeling the dignity of being an A-Class Platoon draining down to a nonexistent sinkhole. He closed his eyes. "…Moving on." He gazed back at her. "In order to complete our objective, we must-"

"-rescue me?" Rita offered, leaning her elbows against the windowpane. She giggled. "This is actually kinda cool, except I would rather not be the princess in distress."

"I wish we knew what to do," I muttered.

"You have to find my glass slipper and put it on my foot." Garuru and I shot alarmed glances to the girl. She was smiling and shrugging. "Don't ask me how I knew that, because I have no clue myself."

"So that's our first level," I said in realization. "Find a glass slipper…"

"Where would we find a glass slipper?" Garuru inquired.

"This is a fairytale," I said, perhaps a bit too redundantly. "And this… this scenario sounds a bit like-"

"Cinderella," Rita chirped. She looked at me. "Right?"

"Right." I wrinkled my nose as I rose my hand to my chin. "That still doesn't explain how we get her out of there, though…"

"…How does the fairytale go?"

"Um… a wicked stepmother doesn't let her stepdaughter go to the ball," I said, trying to keep myself from rambling. "So the stepdaughter seeks help from her fairy godmother, who magically makes her a gown and glass slippers. But her godmother warns that everything will go back to the way it was before at the stroke of midnight; you know, back to her rags." I gestured to Rita, who waved. "Anyway, she goes to the ball, dances with the prince, and just moments before midnight, runs away, leaving the slipper behind. The prince finds the slipper and vows to marry the girl who fits that glass slipper. He finds her again, puts the slipper on her foot, and they get married and lived happily ever after. It's a classic fairytale-"

"That sounds unrealistic," Garuru said flatly.

Figures.

"So where do we go to this… 'ball'?" The purple frog gazed at Rita, who shrugged again.

"I have no clue. When I woke up, I was here, with that information in mind- who knows how I knew that." She paused, and then looked over at me, almost a bit worriedly. "Hey. Did you find Kitty?"

"No," I said. I gave her a pitiful look. "I'm sorry."

"…Who's with you?"

"Um… Garuru, Zoruru, Taruru, and Tororo."

"None of the girls?" Rita questioned, surprised.

"…None of the girls." Wow. Why is it that that was the first time it came to me? "Lieutenant. Our five levels are probably-"

"-rescuing the 'princesses'," Garuru finished for me, his expression as clear as mine.

"If it's based off a game, each level is going to get progressively harder," I noted. "…At least… that's how usual games are…"

"So, wait, I'm level one?" Rita asked me.

"Yeah."

"Cool," She grinned. "Just try to find the slipper so that I could join up with you, okay?"

"Roger." I gave her a playful salute, and turned to walk away.

"What did you find?" Zoruru asked me, folding his arms, but stopping short when he realized to his irritation that the cross bow didn't allow him to do so.

"Rita."

"Rita?" Taruru beamed. He immediately ran back to where the Lieutenant and I were just at, his metal clunking awkwardly behind him.

Tororo rolled his eyes. "So what did you guys find out? What do we need to do to finish this stupid level?"

I scratched the back of my neck. "We have to rescue the princesses."

Zoruru and Tororo gave us blank looks.

"The girls are the princesses," Garuru explained. "Each level is to 'rescue' them, so to speak."

"Oh." Tororo made a face. "We aren't going to have to kiss any of them, are we?"

I hadn't thought of that. The fact that there were some fairytales that required a 'true love's first kiss' to wake up a comatose princess made my stomach curl. "I really hope it doesn't have to come to that."

"Guys!" Taruru came running back, waving his arm up in the air. "Rita gave me another hint!"

Zoruru rested his free hand on his hip. "Is it a useful one?"

"Uhh…. I think so," Taruru looked up to see the sky. "She said something about wicked stepsisters."

I snapped my fingers. That's it.

"Wicked… stepsisters?" Tororo repeated skeptically.

"That sounds plausible," I told them. "In the story, the stepmother and stepsisters try to prevent Cinderella from having her happy ending."

"So, what, we look for stepsisters?" Tororo tilted his head.

"They're ugly, I think," I said. "…Um. At least, in some variations they are."

"So we look for two ugly stepsisters?" Zoruru shook his head. "And where are we going to find them?"

Taruru pointed at the cottage. "That's their house, isn't it?"

I nodded. "Yeah…"

"And remember how that old lady got really excited 'cuz she thought you were here to marry her daughters…?"

"…Yeah…" I don't think I like how this is going…

"Simple. We use you as the bait!"

Aha. It went _exactly _how I thought it was going. "U-um… But…" I sagged my shoulders. "It's futile to resist, isn't it?"

Garuru, Taruru, Tororo, and Zoruru all gave me the same answer: "Yes."

* * *

I knocked on the door anxiously, stepping back when it opened, the older woman appearing annoyed at yet another attempt at my intrusion. "…Yes?"

"I-I would, um, I…" I felt a blush spread across my cheeks. "I-I think… um… I'm reconsidering my offer about… y-you know… um…"

"He wants to marry one of your daughters," Taruru finally said, metal audibly scraping against each other as he folded his arms.

"_Really?!_" The woman, obviously cold at first, swung the door even wider, a warm gesture. "How marvelous! I have two daughters; you are more than welcome to meet them!"

I somehow doubted that one of her daughters included Rita.

"W-where are they?" I asked nervously.

"They're in the meadow," The woman said, her voice dripping in this sickening artificial sweetness. "Just follow the path that way, and you'll come across my daughters." She smiled widely. "Please, as soon as you meet them, come back so that we may arrange wedding preparations."

Yeesh. "Th-thank you, ma'am."

As she closed the door, Taruru piped, "Well that wasn't so bad!"

Ugh. _Speak for yourself._

"We follow the path, guys!" The light blue frog said, pointing in front of him.

Tororo stared at the pebbly path in bewilderment. "…Was this always here…?"

"No, but it's all probably due to the programming of Kururu's thing," Taruru said. "I guess we really _did _have to agree to the marriage proposal or something. Or, at least, I think either the Lieutenant or Johnny did, with them being Prince Charming an' all."

"Prince Charming?" Garuru and I repeated in unison, giving Taruru a face.

"That's what Rita thinks," Taruru said with a grin. "And I think it makes sense. 'Prince Charming' is a fairytale character, right?"

"…Yeah," I said slowly.

"And, to be honest with you, it does make sense," Taruru said. _Clunk. _He pulled his helmet back up. "Our job is to rescue the 'princesses', right? …Well, since you're with Garuru, and Garuru is our leader… and you guys are princes… it makes sense, you know?"

"I… guess it does…" I blinked at him, however unsure.

"….Let's move on," Garuru said stiffly, immediately walking in front of us to lead the way.

Farewell, noble dignity_. I knew thee well. _

* * *

You know how pretty flowers tend to make girls look even prettier…?

…Well…

The path led us to an open field, where two women were in the middle of it, completely surrounded by vivacious flowers.

We gawked at them awkwardly.

One of them was shorter and chubbier, with a round, tubby face and a slicked back bun. She wore a very rich looking dress, the color of the palest pink. The other, the one I assumed was her sister, was tall and very thin, sharp-boned like her mother. She had cropped hair that went only as low as her cheekbones.

They were talking about how funny it was that 'Cinderella' was being punished in her room for the umpteenth time that day. _Yeesh. _Wicked _and _ugly.

"Well?" Taruru looked up at me. "What are you waiting for, lover boy?"

I cringed at that nickname. "Please don't call me that."

"Alright, alright," He said dismissively. "Just go."

I sighed and braced myself, walking up to the two stepsisters as they discussed matters of laundry and tuna fish.

…Um. Not going there.

"H-hi," I said with a nervous grin.

The girls looked up at me, the same creepy gleam in their eyes. I shuddered and took a tiny step back. "U-um… I'm l-looking for something, and I was wondering if you had seen it.."

"Sure," The short one said. "Drizella." She turned to her sister. "Help me up."

The other girl rolled her eyes and stood up, pulling her sister alongside with her.

"I'm Sunella," The fat one gushed.

"And I'm Drizella." The thin one gave me a wide, toothy smile.

I tried to refrain from grimacing. "…I-I'm Johnny."

"Are you a prince?" The girls asked simultaneously.

"A-anyway!" I stuttered. "Th-that's not important. I-I just wanted to ask if either of you had seen a glass slipper."

"A glass slipper?" Drizella wrinkled her nose, scrunching up her eyebrows. "Do you know what he's talking about?"

Sunella was silent for a moment, before clasping her hands behind her. She gazed at me testily. "Are you prince or aren't you?"

Some role playing games _require _you to say certain things in order to continue one with the level; like what we were supposed to tell the old lady, I suppose this was one of them. I sighed and conceded defeat. "Yeah, I'm a prince." Although really… I had a _crown, _didn't I? "Do you have a glass slipper?"

"Why, yes," Sunella whipped out the slipper from who knows where. "Why do you ask?"

"I, um. I need it."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"It… belongs to me…?" I tried weakly.

The girls stared blankly at me.

And then I realized what I just said, and I inwardly pounded my forehead with my palm. "W-what I mean is, um. It belongs to… to a friend of mine."

"Is she a princess?" Drizella asked, folding her arms.

Ahaha… please let this nightmare end…

"Yes, she is."

"We'll give it to you if you answer a riddle."

Yay. Riddles.

No, wait… I'm pretty decent with them… err, sort of. Professor Layton's always fun…

"Sure," I said with a tired smile. "I'll do it."

"But if you fail to answer it correctly-"

"-I don't get the slipper. I got it."

"No. You marry-"

"-one of us!" Drizella piped, Sunella glaring at her.

I visibly shuddered. "J-just give me the riddle, and we'll talk."

Sunella gazed at me thoughtfully before she proceeded, "I've seen you where you never was, And where you ne'er will be; And yet you in that very same place, May still be seen by me." She gave me a smug look. "What's the answer?"

I stared at her, my mouth slightly agape.

_…Man,_ I'm doomed.

"C..Can I get some help from my friends, please?" I asked meekly.

The girls looked at each other and shrugged. "Do as you wish, my prince. Just be back shortly."

"Th-thank you," I stammered, quickly turning away. I immediately ran back to them, desperate.

"So did they have it?" Tororo asked.

"Yes," I said slowly. "But, um. They won't give it to me unless I answer a riddle."

Zoruru rolled his eye. "Mmhm. And what do you need us for?"

"To help me solve it?" I asked weakly. "Please? It's, um. It's confusing."

"How does it go?" Garuru inquired after a pause.

I recited it to them, and they listened intently.

"I have no clue!" Taruru said, sitting down on a rock. "I don't blame you, Johnny- it really _does _sound confusing!"

Tororo was deep in thought. "I've seen you where you never was…"

"And where you'll never be," Zoruru murmured.

"And yet you in that same place…" Garuru frowned. "…May still be seen by me. Hm. It's a very strange riddle."

I rubbed my forehead. "This is giving me a headache…"

"I've seen you were you never were," Tororo squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm trying to find out what that means…"

"Maybe we're thinking too much into this," Zoruru said slowly. "We're assuming the 'I' is the answer; but what if the 'I' is us, or you, or whoever is asking the question?"

I blinked at him. "…Huh?"

"What I mean is," Zoruru sighed. "The answer is what the speaker is _talking _about- not like usual riddles. Let's see this riddle from _our _point of view, instead of the other way around. Let's find out what '_you' _is."

"Okay. Let's try this again." I took a deep breath. "I've seen you where you never was, and where you'll never be; and yet you in that very same place, may still be seen by me."

"So, _we _can see 'you' where it never was and where it'll never be," Tororo said. "…Hm."

"And yet it's in the same place where we can see it," Garuru shook his head slightly and held his head with one hand.

"So it doesn't exist?" I tried. "Maybe it's a ghost?"

"It'll only appear when we see it," Zoruru noted. "I suppose you can call it a ghost…" Though he sounded extremely unsure.

"It's there, but it's not there," Garuru folded his arms in thought. "What could it be…?"

Taruru was staring at Zoruru.

The cybernetic assassin looked annoyed. "What?"

Taruru glanced down at his armor, and then looked at Tororo, whose eyes widened.

"I know what it is," Tororo said softly.

* * *

"Give up, my prince?" Drizella said with a mild grin.

"No, no…" I shook my hands. "Um… Okay. Do I get any chances?"

"Nope," The girls chimed.

Figures.

"Okay, I'm taking a shot in the dark," I closed my eyes and felt my face redden. "…It's there, but it's not there; it's only there when we see it." I opened them and looked at them hopefully. "It's a reflection when you're looking at a mirror or something, isn't it? It's there, but it's not there; it'll only be there when you see it yourself."

Though in their case, the glass would probably break.

The girls gave each other side glances, irritated.

"What if that's not the answer?" Sunella asked snidely. "What makes you think we'll give you the slipper?"

"What if I decide to marry you if you give me the slipper?"

"Really?!" The two girls cried out.

I gave them a warm smile. "Only one way to find out, mm?"

They gave it to me.

"…._Buenos noches, burros!_" I sped off with the glass slipper, the girls screaming out profanities behind me.

* * *

"Great! You found the slipper!" Rita said cheerfully. She rested her head on her hands. "But now you have to put it on my foot."

"_I _have to?" I pointed at myself. "Why can't you do it?"

"Um, I don't know! Go ahead and try giving it to me."

I handed her the slipper, and she reached out for it, but that 'invisible bubble' wouldn't allow it.

"I guess it's a one way bubble," Rita said with a small shrug. "Sorry about that!"

I looked at Garuru, who looked back at me. "What do we do know, Lieutenant?"

"I'll assume we need to get inside first," Garuru pointed out, walking up to Rita. "Do you know how?"

"Um, distract my 'stepmother'?" Rita suggested.

"That'll work." I nodded.

* * *

"Tororo," Taruru said to the younger tadpole, "I'm going to teach you how to be annoying."

Zoruru from the trees muttered something along the lines of '_he doesn't need your help'_.

Three eggs splattered against the wooden door.

The old woman opened it and looked at the messy, greasy yolk, sliding down, horrified. "Hey!" She glared at Taruru and Tororo. "_You did this, didn't you?!_"

"No, we didn't," Taruru said as innocently as he could. He pulled down the bottom of one of his eyes, lagging out his tongue.

"_GET BACK HERE YOU TOADS!" _She croaked, grabbing her broom from the inside and chasing after them, Taruru laughing as he _clunk'd_, and Tororo with his basket in the air, running.

"Well that was easy enough," Garuru said dryly.

"Come on, Lieutenant," I said, quickly making my way inside the house. I passed three lush rooms and immediately passed by them. Being Cinderella, Rita had to have the more modest room.

And it was apparent that it was probably the only one that was closed. I reached for the knob and turned it, only to frown when I noticed it wouldn't budge. Locked, too.

"Rita? Rita! Can you hear me in there?" I called out.

"Johnny? Is that you?"

"Can you unlock the door?" I asked her.

There was a weak chuckle from the other side. "Trust me, Johnny: if I could, I would've done so a long time ago."

"Let's look for a key," I mumbled, gently waving toward Garuru, who followed suite. I put down the slipper on the table and opened the drawers, while he opened cabinets.

"Riddle me this, riddle me that!" Rita cried out behind her door. "What over the head and under the hat?"

"Hair?" I gave her room a strange look. I've heard that riddle before when I was little, looking at a kids book full of those little gems of a puzzle. I figured it out in two seconds. "What's that all about?"

"I'm just spouting random things; I'm not sure why."

"Hair…" Garuru pointed at a coat hanger. "Like that?"

I did a double take, my eyes growing wide. Hair. _Hair?!_

"It's a wig, Cadet," Garuru told me, shaking his head at my horror. "Or hair extensions. Quite common in my planet."

I shuddered. "Wh-what… what if the key is in _there…?_"

"We all have to make sacrifices, Cadet," Garuru said, gesturing toward it. "_After you_."

I poked at it in disgust, eventually swallowing whatever common sense I had and digging through it with my fingers.

_Aha._

"I found it," I said. I gave it to him. "_Here. _I'll go wash my hands."

Garuru gave me a small smirk before he accepted it and turned to open the door.

I dunked my fingers inside a bucket of water, scrubbing it with my fingernails. _Yeuch. _

"Hiya, Johnny!" Rita said sweetly, startling me from behind. She flickered a funny glance down to my hands. "What are you doing?"

"W-washing my hands," I said with a sickened shiver.

She looked at the now messy wig, and gave me a wide grin. "Oh." She laughed. "I'm sorry! I appreciate you doing it for me, though."

"Let's just get out of here, okay? Let's go save the others." Garuru and I walked out the door, but when she tried following us, she ran into some invisible force- the bubble that kept her in before. She held out her hands helplessly.

"Oh. Right." I walked back in and picked up the slipper. "Sit down." She did so, taking off her own shoes in the process, and I kneeled. "Okay…" I gently took her ankle, and slid the glass onto place. Fit like a glove. Or, erm. You know; a glass slipper. "There."  
There was a flash, and a crown floated above her, shining brightly. The three of us had to hold our arms out defensively, shielding ourselves from the light.

"_Ku-ku-ku! Level one completed!_"

When the light died down, we saw Rita wearing a tiny tiara on her head, Tororo's insignia on the center, also wearing a more or less shirt-version of what she was wearing before, exchanging shorts instead of that dress. I guess it's so that she could maneuver around easier.

Except for the glass slippers she now had on her feet (I have no clue where she got the second one; then again, I don't really know where the clothes came from either…).

"Cool!" Rita said, walking around me. "That's so much better."

"You're aren't going to be uncomfortable in those?" I asked, gesturing toward her feet.

"They don't hurt," She mused. "Then again, it's a game, for the most part. I doubt these shoes were 'programmed' to hurt me."

"Correct, ku-ku!"

YIPES.

I tumbled backwards onto a chair, with Rita laughed joyfully, holding out her hand to help me up. The television like device that was Kururu's was hovering above us now, watching us in amusement.

"I designed it so that the shoes won't hurt her," Kururu explained with a small shrug. "Though you may still feel _some _pain, like when you fell back there."

"Wonderful," I said sarcastically.

"…If that's the case, can we die in this game too?"

I turned my head and saw Zoruru walking up behind Garuru.

"Wow, you look really cool," Rita affirmed.

He ignored her. "Well, Sergeant Major?"

"Ku-ku-ku… well… _yes…_"

The four of us shot him alarmed stares. "_What?!_"

"Ku-ku-ku! You have nothing to worry about! It's pretty painless… mostly," Kururu leaned forward slightly. "Each of you have _five hearts. _Think of it as being a game; five hearts, five lives. Each time you get massively hurt- be it in battle or by accident- you'll lose a heart." Kururu stretched out his finger again, though for an entirely different reason. "You lose all of them…" He closed them in. "…You lose." He pushed himself back against the chair and curled his arms behind his head again. "Game over."

"So, wait," I said, waving my hands. "If one of us… 'dies'…"

"Ku-ku-ku! You just get cast out of the game," Kururu said dismissively. "If one of you dies, the rest of you still get to try and complete the game."

"…If we all lose our five hearts?" Garuru asked after a pause.

"You'll have to start over from the beginning~ Ku-ku~" Kururu sang, again a bit too gleeful for something that was supposed to just simply test the A-Class Platoon. "So unless you want to start over-"

"-We have to finish the game the first time," Garuru said with a frown.

Great. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliantly great. Or greatly brilliant. Take your pick.

"Tick tock," Kururu's device floated around us playfully, "Clock's ticking. Better get a move on."

"He has a point," Garuru grunted. "Let's go find the others."

* * *

Taruru's helmet looked like it was smashed in, with an enormous dent on the side.

"Is it a bad thing that I lost a heart?" He asked me.

Rita face palmed.

"Cool!" Taruru skipped over to her. "They got you out!"

"Yup," She said, admitting that much. She gasped delightedly when she saw Tororo. "_Oh my gosh, you look so cute!_"

Tororo grimaced, and I chuckled. "Tororo. Where to next?"

The tadpole shot a menacing glare to Rita (which only made her grin, because it looked more adorable than menacing) and pulled out the map, tossing it to Garuru.

He caught it. "Let's see…" The map crinkled slightly as the purple frog opened up. The spot where it was blank before was now filled with illustration; a light blue path that had led us to Rita's challenge was now slightly faded, and over the small pictured cottage was the name _Cinderella. _A gray path led out of the forest into another, one that looked dead and spooky in contrast to the pretty one we were currently in.

"…That doesn't look creepy at all!" Taruru said, apparently aversely reading what was commonly on everyone else's mind.

Rita rolled her eyes slightly and shook her head, though her lips showed more of a playful smile than anything.

"Alright, guys," I told them, crossing my arms into each other. "Let's go."

..._To Be Continued_

* * *

**_..._You may be wondering one or two things: **

**First off, _where's Garuru's story?!_ ... This is now an 'arc'. Whenever I dedicate a chapter to that 'arc', which is the six Pekoponian Partners with the Garuru Platoon doing the 'simulations', there won't be a story at the end... sorry. **

**Second... _Why is this in two parts? _Um. I honestly didn't think it was going to be that long. But it turns out that I needed to put more thought into it than I usually do, including more detail, more plot devices... yeesh. Sorry. I'm guessing it's going to be like this with all the other chapters like this, where they'll be divided up into two.**

**Know what that means? ... I'll have more than 100 chapters... Unless I can pull off something creative, I doubt I'll be able to do something like that. So.. enjoy this two-part fairytale arc!**

AND GIRLS. Don't spoil anything! Now that you've read this story, you might remember a particular PM I sent you several days ago...

**So this chapter had Rita. Ahaha... I hope I got her personality right! I hope I get everyone's personalities right...**

**Untl next time. **


	20. My Inspiration- Pt 2

**DAY NINETEEN, WORD NINETEEN: MY INSPIRATION (PART II)**

* * *

I jumped, reaching automatically for the hilt on my sword.

"It was just a branch, kid," The cyborg told me, poking at it with his free hand.

I shuddered. "R-right." Very grabby branches…

"Just think: _trees_," Taruru said pointedly. He had given up trying to pull his helmet up; it was meant to stay down, it seemed, whether he wanted it or not. "Tell yourself: _I am afraid of trees_. I'm sure common sense'll slap you in the face if you think hard enough about it."

I know it sounded ridiculous, but I couldn't help it; the twigs of these dead trees were long and thin, resembling sharp, bony, curled fingers. I yelped as I felt yet another one dig behind my back.

Rita glanced at me simply. "You've never been to a spooky house before, have you?"

"Wh-what, m-me?" I stammered, shaking my head. "N-n-no."

She gave me a sweet, '_I-figured_' look and kept walking.

One snagged my cape; I yanked it out of the tree's grasp, and ended up falling backward into a shallow pit.

"Careful, Cadet!" Garuru growled. "We can't afford to lose you!"

…Right. Kururu's hint or whatever. Apparently I'm wanted. But not in the way I would've liked.

Eh, beggars can't be choosers.

"This place is freaking me out," Tororo murmured, gripping his basket and walking a little closer to Rita.

"I hope the next one is Kitty," The girl told me, gazing at me patiently. "I hope she's alright…"

"I'm sure she is," I assured her. "Don't worry too much about it."

Something shuffled in one of the dead bushes.

Garuru quickly stepped in front of us. "Who's there?"

"…It's just me…"

An old lady peeped out from behind one of the trees, gazing at us with soft, sad eyes. She had a long nose with an unavoidable-to-look-at wart bulging at the end. She wore a long, thin black cloak, her stringy hair falling loosely over her face. Her thin, sharp finger nails instantly reminded me of the forest around us. As rude as I could imagine I was being, I couldn't stop staring at them.

"Just a little old lady…" She whispered.

I could feel this insanely disturbing presence before us, and I was sure Garuru could feel it too.

The leader spoke up. "What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing…" She continued in that quiet voice. She stepped further out, though refusing to come out into the open sunlight. "…I just… want to help ye weary travelers…"

Garuru perked a brow. "…How so?"

"…Well…" She reached into one of her black sleeves which revealed to be a small basket, a smaller, more delicate-looking one that Tororo's, slung over her tiny wrist. "…I have an apple here… all I wanted to do was offer it to you…"

Tororo glanced warily at Taruru, who made a wide grin.

"Don't mind if I do!" The light blue frog piped, reaching out to grab it. Garuru held out his hand to block him from moving further.

"No, thank you," The purple Keronian said, giving her something of a cautious glare. "…But we appreciate your hospitality."

And here I thought Garuru wasn't that genre-savvy. Kudos for him.

The woman frowned, her face more pitiful than menacing… "…Are you sure…? Ye would really deny a gift from an elderly lady…?"

"We apologize," Garuru said, quickly gesturing the team behind him before continuing in the lead.

* * *

"Are you alright?"

"H-huh?" I blinked at Zoruru. He was staring at me intently, glowing red orb on me. "W-what?"

"I _said_, are you alright?" The ninja repeated, huffing slightly.

"…Yes," I said slowly. "…Why do you ask?"

"You've just been really jumpy," He explained, turning his head away from me to look in front of him. "…Especially around me."

"I-I'm sorry...b-but i-it's just you," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. He perked a brow, his eye to me, but he said nothing in return.

That nightmare still creeped me out… I really didn't want to put myself into that situation. I assumed that distancing myself from him in the most discreet way possible would help me avoid that very possible scenario.

…Please focus on the "discreet". Apparently I was doing a very bad job actually applying it.

"S-so, Rita!" I walked over to her, attempting a subtle escape from the cyborg (aaaand he could tell. So very tell. Why do I suck at this?). "You've been pretty quiet… something wrong?"

"There was just something wrong with that woman," Rita murmured, her eyes completely unfocused to the world around her. I made something of a small noise as I quickly ran in front of her to pull a spiky branch out of her way. She walked on, not even noticing it. "…I mean, there was something, right? Didn't she make you… I don't know… nervous?"

"He's always nervous," Tororo said with an eye roll. "Don't bother asking him."

"H-hey..."

"I agree."

Rita and I snapped our attention to Garuru.

"Agree what?" I sighed. "That I'm a worrywart?"

"...No. Concerning that Pekoponian woman."

Rita and I exchanged cautious looks.

"What do you mean?" I asked slowly.

"…She made me anxious too."

"But she didn't look like she could pose much of a threat…" Tororo told him.

"Looks can be deceiving…" Garuru muttered.

Something growled.

"W-what was that?" I stammered.

Zoruru huffed. "Grow a backbone, why don't you? It was probably Tororo's stomach or something."

Garuru suddenly stopped, informing the rest of the team behind him to repeat his action. The Lieutenant materialized a sword.

"…Lieutenant?"

"Prepare for battle. _Now!_"

The instant those words left his mouth, a screech was emitted from somewhere around us. All of us stepped somewhat closer together, turning our heads while trying to locate the source of the noise. Taruru pulled out the sword from his sheathe, I did the same (while kind of praying I wasn't going to screw up), and Zoruru bent his arm behind himself to grab an arrow. Tororo looked mildly annoyed that he probably wasn't going to be able to do any damage with a picnic basket, but when something shuffled near him, he ran behind Rita.

"What am I going to do?" The girl murmured.

"Try throwing your slipper," Taruru said, looking at her.

She gave him an odd look. "_What_."

Taruru responded with a dry chuckle. "Fine, ignore me. It was just a suggestion."

"You know how to use that?" Rita asked me, her eyes flickering to the sword in my hand.

"….We'll see," I muttered.

All was still and silent; we glanced at each other warily, muscles tense, hands twitching at the available weapons clenched in our fingers. I think for a moment I even forgot to breathe.

"…Well…" Taruru said, straightening as he began the motion to put his sword away. "I think it's obvious we're getting a little ahea- _gah!_" He was carried away, the long stretch of branch pinning him to another tree.

The trees around us moaned as they dug themselves out of the ground, their long, bony branches clawing at us with the most vicious intent. Their bark opened up to reveal two malicious eyes, a fire blazing within them, and a large, toothy grim smile that reminded one of a Halloween carved pumpkin.

"Challenge number two," Taruru breathed behind the hand. He made a small grin. "_Let's get dangerous._"

The tree screeched, its talons being ripped apart through the heavy blade the light blue Keronian used. Taruru hopped back to Rita, his sword in front of him.

Garuru charged and slashed at a twig that made a grab for Tororo, who waved his basket in defense.

Hey, at least the little guy was trying.

"I think it would be a good idea to use your sword now, Johnny," Rita said worriedly.

Oh dear.

"I-I'll try," I said. Grasping the sword with two shaken hands, I made a run for a tree before it got too close to me, but then tripped and landed on my face. "Ow…" Garuru rolled his eyes to the sky and rushed in to my rescue, expertly delivering four deadly slashes to the face before the tree, to my surprise, disintegrated, its tiny bits of matter pixelating and floating to nothing.

Another video game reference. Huh. If my life wasn't in danger I think it would've actually looked pretty cool.

"Get up," Garuru told me, grabbing my arm and yanking me to my knees.

I rubbed my head and gave him a weak smile of gratitude, blushing heavily when he showed obvious signs of irritation.

"_Gahk! -Elp!"_

The leader and I turned, seeing Taruru again pinned to another tree, this time his sword away from his reach. As the monster squeezed him tighter, he let out a pained scream, and to all our horror, a heart floated above him and popped.

"_Ku-ku-ku! _Three more lives for Private Taruru."

"Alright; I'm giving this a try," Rita said, pulling the glass slipper from off her foot. She swung her arm toward the flora-beast and whipped the shoe against its face. It screeched and released the Keronian, who immediately grabbed his sword and brutally mutilated the monster before it regained its composure.

The slipper spun and boomeranged right back to Rita.

"Cool!" She beamed. She looked at me proudly. "How was that?"

I gave her a thumbs up. "Nice job!"

"Geez_, look out_!"

I yelped and ducked, the tree-monster originally lunging toward me. It tripped and rolled in front of me; seeing my chance, I charged with sword in hand.

I missed by a whole foot.

The creature grinned sadistically at me, laughing at my idiocy. I felt my face heat up as I again attempted another attack.

Dodge.

I almost fell forward, hopping to the front awkwardly as I desperately tried to keep my balance.

"I gotcha, Johnny!"

The tree squealed, arms reaching up as its matter began dispersing.

Rita waved at me, her other hand in the air as it caught the slipper. "You're welcome!" She darted off to another area.

I sagged my shoulders slightly, the fingers that held my sword tightly beginning to loosen.

What am I doing here.

"Try again."

I jumped slightly and immediately looked at Garuru. He was staring at me- but not with the annoyance he was expressing so clearly before. They were filled with expectation; _don't let me down now. _It immediately brought to mind the target practice a week or so ago. I saw his grip tighten on the hilt of his sword.

"L-Lieutenant-"

"Try. _Again._"

I took a deep breath and nodded, my lips turning in a small smile. "Alright."

"Good." Garuru ran off, the sun glinting off his metallic blade. I watched him idly for a moment before an impatient _"a-hem" _from a cybernetic frog brought me back to my senses.

"Just wanted to wake you up," Zoruru said dismissively, preparing his crossbow with an arrow. "If it helps you at all, try to focus on the enemy instead of the weapon. Y'know. For future reference." He vanished, startling me. Either that's a magic trick or he was just really that fast…

I shook myself out of it.

"Try again," I muttered. Something screamed behind me, and I swung the sword over my shoulder, with as much force as I could possibly give.

Something resembling a goat dying pierced my ear, and I turned around, heart pounding uncotrollably at the loud sound.

Whatever it was that was behind me disintegrated. I grinned widely and did a victory dance.

"Ahem."

"A-ah…" I smiled weakly as Zoruru perked a brow at me. I guess he just decided to come back to check on my progress…? "Idiot." Nope. Just to chastise me. What else is new? "But better. Keep doing what you did there." _Zip. _Gone again.

"I can't take it anymore!" Tororo whined, jumping out of the way of a branch that was reaching for him. "I wish I had a better weapon!"

"Maybe there's something in your basket?" Taruru asked, grunting as he slugged a tree with his fist. He paused to shake his aching knuckles, more or less regretting his rash action.

"But I all I have is the apple and the map."

"Apple?" Garuru, Taruru, Zoruru, Rita, and I repeated simultaneously.

"The one from the old lady…? Don't you remem-?"

Zoruru _zipped _over to Tororo, snatched his basket from him, dug into it, grabbed the apple, and threw to the nearest tree.

It swallowed it, and then exploded.

All of the trees exploded, including one that was near Garuru.

He gave out a cry of pain, the sheer force knocking him forward. A heart floated above him, popping once in the air.

"_Ku-ku-ku!_ Four more lives left for Lieutenant Garuru."

"…Oops."

Zoruru gave Tororo an exasperated glance. "Didn't you learn your lesson from the space siren venture?"

"Space sirens?" Rita gazed at them curiously.

"Well-" Taruru began.

"_You tell _anyone, _you die,_" Zoruru warned, his eye glowing.

Taruru rose his hands up defensively, laughing. "Okay, okay, I got it!" He puckered his lips out. "T'was not my fault you got yourself in a weird position, kissin' the Chief Medic and all, though..."

"You did… _what?_" Rita asked him, fighting off a giggle.

Zoruru's face exploded in an unnatural red color. He seethed, "_I'm going to DESTROY you."_

"Man, I wish I knew the whole story," Rita said, laughing. She looked at me. "Don't you?"

I think it would be best to not mention that I already did.

"I would suggest not taking away his snacks this time around, Lieutenant~" Taruru sang as Garuru picked himself up, the latter dusting his sleeves. "Remember what happened that time in Sector Seven~"

"…What _is _Sector Seven about?" I pressed, having heard those two key words earlier.

"Don't ask," Garuru told me.

I sighed and looked at Rita sadly. "The life and times of the Garuru Platoon. So many secrets…"

"Lance Corporal Zoruru!" Garuru snapped. "If Taruru loses another heart because of you…"

Zoruru was strangling the light blue Keronian. He released him reluctantly. "_Alright._"

"Apples…" Rita mused. "Huh. Kitty and I always knew they were actually aliens in disguise waiting for the right moment to attack and rule the earth!" She mumbled to herself, reveling in the mystery that was apples.

Zoruru, Garuru, and I stared at her.

"…The sad thing is…" Tororo said pointedly, while Taruru sat up from the ground, kissing it with the sheer fact that he was still alive, "….they actually do."

I laughed.

"Can we move on now?" Zoruru asked Garuru.

"Case in point," Garuru dispersed the matter of his sword. "Let's go."

* * *

At the end of our creepy path, there sat another cottage, though in contrast to the one Rita was stuck in, this one looked completely deserted. The walls were a stormy gray color, the paint peeling to reveal the dry, almost chalky color of the bricks it was made of. The flowers on the front yard were brown and curled up, wrinkled, followed by the overgrown vines that stretched up against the front walls.

For a moment, we were unsure if this was just part of the scenery or not, but then Garuru confirmed with the map (the rest of the section was, of course, blank) that this was our next level.

Garuru walked up to the door and knocked on it. There was no sound of life in the inside; he looked back at me and pushed it hard, not at all surprised when it opened on its own. It creaked loudly, the top hinge even snapping half way, making the bottom of the door slam against the floor.

Dust was everywhere; it swirled and clouded and became the sickening inhalant to our nostrils. We coughed and tried waving it away, but more seemed to surround us instead.

The house was so dark. It was nearly impossible to see.

"Does anyone have a phone or something?" Rita asked.

"I…_did_." Well that was unhelpful. I wish I didn't say anything.

I heard someone padding around us; probably one of the frogs, though I wasn't sure who. "There are a lot of beds here…" The voice spoken was by Taruru. "I already felt three beds… no, wait, four… five…. Six… seven. Huh. Cool."

"So, what, a platoon of seven lives here?" Tororo's voice. "Big deal."

"Seven?" Rita murmured beside me. "Hm…"

"_OW._" There was a _thump_ and a roll. "I think I walked over a chair…" Tororo again.

"Seven chairs, too," Taruru confirmed. He coughed. "Geez, it's stuffy in here…"

Garuru's voice echoed throughout the blackness; "Try and find another opening to hopefully bring some light in, as well as some air."

"I may have found another door that leads to somewhere…" Zoruru said somewhere. Something else_ creeeak-d _and slammed against the ground. All of us grimaced under the powerful surge of sun that had burst forth the rectangle-shaped exit.

"And there was light!" Taruru cried out playfully, running outside.

Our party followed him, our facial expressions changing to one of surprise as we saw the difference in the life of the garden. Flowers were flourishing, colors vivid and petals rich and in full bloom. It must've taken more than a few minutes for our eyes to adjust from dead to life.

"It's pretty," Taruru confirmed, more or less mirroring what was in everyone else's mind.

"Hey…" Tororo poked Rita's leg. "…What's that?"

In the distance, surrounded by the mass of beautiful roses, daisies, and violets, there was a long, white and golden casket. The glass top had been taken off, leaning against the casket like someone had removed it prior.

"…Did someone die?" Tororo asked quietly.

"It looks like it," Zoruru said with a soft sigh. "Though really, it shouldn't come as a surprise."

"At least they died in a nice place," Taruru said with a nod.

"Wait." Rita's eyes widened as she moved closer to the casket. She gasped at the sight of the corpse, taking a tiny step back. "Th-that's Stella!"

"_What?!_" The rest of us ran up to the casket, our mouths growing wide with horror as we realized that the girl had spoken the truth.

Stella was lying inside what looked like a white, comfortable cushion, wearing a thin gray floral dress and delicate looking black shoes. She was grasping a bouquet of pretty little flowers, no doubt taken from the garden she was now resting in. She has a fragile look of calm on her features, but she wasn't moving.

Tororo was the first to react. "No pulse. Doesn't look like she's breathing, either." He looked up at me and Garuru, almost scared. "What do we do?"

"Wait, hold up." Rita examined Stella for a moment, her shock receded. "Apples. Seven things. A not so rotten corpse. Hey! This sounds like Snow White!"

"Snow White?" Taruru looked up at his human partner. "What's that?"

"Um…" I looked at the sky. "Snow White is kinda like Cinderella, though instead of just locking her away and making her a slave, her evil stepmother tries to kill her. The huntsman, ordered to kill her, takes her to the forest to do the job but is so overtaken by her beauty and innocence that he lets her go. Snow White runs away and seeks refuge in a little house with seven dwarves. The stepmother finds out, disguises herself as an old lady and gives Snow White a poisoned apple-" At this Taruru was grinning widely at Tororo, who was scowling and blushing heavily, "-which the girl eats, and dies. The seven little men find out, kill the stepmother, and put Snow White in a beautiful casket in her memory."

"So that's _it?_" Tororo perked a brow. "How the heck are we going to wake her up?"

"You didn't finish it yet, Johnny," Rita giggled. "The story doesn't end like that. A prince comes along the way, is so mesmerized by the girl's beauty, leans down and gives her a kiss. Then the girl wakes up, and they live happily ever after-"

"That sounds unrealistic," Garuru said quietly.

Rita turned to me.

"…What?" I said, giving her a funny look. The rest of the platoon turned to gaze at me, and I gave them bewildered stares. "_What?_"

"We're waiting," Zoruru said crisply.

"Waiting? Waiting for _what?_"

"For you to kiss her and wake her up," Taruru piped up.

I felt my whole face redden. "_What?!_"

"True, Cadet," Garuru nodded at this particular fact. "If the original fairytale does in fact require you to… 'wake up' the princess, then it would indeed qualify as rescuing her." He gestured toward Stella. "Go on."

"N-no," I stammered. Why did I feel like they were all inwardly laughing at my unfortunate situation? _Why?!_

"Cadet…" Garuru said testily.

I groaned. "…Alright, alright…"

I stood over the casket, looking at Stella awkwardly. I leaned down, but then immediately straightened. "Oh, I don't think I'm going to be able to do this…"

"How hard is it for you to just _kiss _someone?" Tororo demanded.

"Harder than you think," Rita said, patting his head and shaking her own at his innocence.

"We're waiting, kid," Zoruru said with an eye roll. "We haven't got all day."

"O-okay, okay!" I took a deep breath. After calming myself down and actually convincing myself that I was going to _have _to do this, I braced myself and leaned down. My face was mere inches away from hers, a few centimeters away from her lips…

BAM.

"OH MY NOSE." I held my face and fell backwards. A heart floated above my head and popped.

"_Ku-ku-ku! _Four more lives for Johnny Cadet."

The rest of the platoon stared at my writhing in utter painful pain, before turning to look at Stella, whose arm had automatically propelled in the air before I could even come close to touching her mouth with my own.

A crown floated above Stella's head, and again, we were enveloped with a bright white light. Just like Rita before, Stella's clothing changed to something more suitable for walking long distances- no doubt to finish our game. Her dress had shrunken so that instead of falling to her heels it had risen to her hips; she wore black tights with the similar black flats, easy to maneuver around. A small tiara sat on her head, Zoruru's insignia in the center.

"_Ku-ku-ku~ level two completed." _

We heard Stella sigh as she rose up, yawning gently. When she noticed us, she beamed. "Oh, hi guys!" Her eyes widened as they finally came to grips with the surreal virtual reality, and she threw her head back and laughed. "_What are you guys wearing?_ I didn't know you liked to cosplay!"

"_Cosplay?!_" Zoruru repeated with disgust. "Like those nerds in those conventions that are in your computer?!"

"Hey, don't be hatin'," Stella frowned playfully, folding her arms. "I happen to like cosplaying myself…" She drifted off. "Hey. Where's Johnny?"

"You punched him on the nose," Tororo said, pointing down to my still writhing form.

"I did?!" Stella looked down at me, clutching on to the ends of the case. "I'm so sorry!"

"I'm okay…."

"So what happened?" Stella asked. She looked around her. "…And why am I in a coffin…?"

"Long story short; the creep transported us to a world where we have to play his sick little games without completely dying, and the game involves five levels," Tororo started. "Our levels are 'rescuing' princesses." He jerked a thumb behind his shoulder to Rita. "She was the first level." He pointed at Stella. "You were the second."

"Cool!" Stella said, looking at her hands. "What princess am I?" "Snow White," Zoruru explained.

"…Wait." Stella adopted a thoughtful look. "So… if I was Snow White… and you had to rescue me… then…" Her face hit a euphoria. She looked down at me. "…Oops."

"I'm o-kay…!" I gave her a thumbs up.

Stella hopped out of the casket and held out her hand to help me up. "Did you kiss me?"

"No," I laughed dryly. "I almost did. Then you punched me."

"The best thing I ever did see~" Taruru sang.

"Hey, Taruru…" Rita looked down at him. "Whatever happened to that chicken dance you were supposed to do in front of Garuru?"

"_Again_?" The Lieutenant looked up at the girl, who shot an incredulous look back at him.

"He was _serious?_"

"I found the baby pictures you tried hiding from the world and I blackmailed you out of it, remember?" Taruru chirped.

Rita stared at him for the longest time, a look of hidden admiration in her eyes, but seeing as she still refused to accept the fact that she was beginning to actually _like _the private, she dismissed it with a simple, "Touché ."

"It's um." Zoruru coughed awkwardly into his hand, then resting it against his hip as he glanced away from his own human partner. "It's nice to see you aren't… _dead. _I mean, not that I wouldn't have, I don't know… _minded, _but-"

"You're so sweet!" Stella reached down and hugged him.

"_Gawk! _Let me go or I _will _hurt you!"

Stella only made a taunting laugh.

"Three more levels to go," Garuru sighed. "I'll be glad to get this over with."

"C'mon, Lieutenant!" Taruru gently jabbed his superior with an elbow. "You can't say you don't find this _fun!_"

"This isn't appealing to me," Garuru said flatly.

"Oh~ Would it be appealing to you if your requirement was to give a kiss to Pururu~?"

"Requirement?" I furrowed my brows, remembering what the sergeant major had said before. "…So, wait. That Kururu guy said that I was the only one that produced body heat… Does that mean that in order to wake up a sleeping princess… I have to wake her up with my _body heat?" _

"It makes sense," Tororo said with a small nod. "You didn't exactly _kiss _Stella, per say, but I guess your face was so warm it woke her up from that coma."

"So it's like a snake when it freezes in cold weather?" Rita suggested.

"Eh, more or less," Tororo shrugged. "I doubt we'll need him again for another mission, though."

"S-speaking of 'needing', Lieutenant." I decided to speak up. I refuse to put up with this abuse any longer! …At least if they don't point a gun at me. Then I'll revert to Plan B: say it's just a joke and apologize profusely when they don't buy it. "I've been doing a majority of the activity lately. I understand that I'm, um. 'Prince Charming', but you're 'Prince Charming' too. I would appreciate it if I didn't have to do all the work."

Garuru gave me a thoughtful look as he pondered over my words. "…True. I'll give you that much. You have been doing most of them. The next mission I'll attempt on my own."

"Thank you," I murmured, relieved.

"This level was actually easier than the last," Taruru said with a frown. "Huh. Isn't it supposed to be harder?"

"Are you kidding?" Tororo retorted, folding his arms. "We had to fight _trees!_ Even the _Lieutenant _got hurt! I'd rather try and solve puzzles any day!"

"Speak for yourself," I sighed. "You weren't exactly threatened into having to marry one of those… um. _Women _if you happened to get the riddle wrong."

"Wait, what?" Rita and Stella asked, their attention now sharply focused on me.

I blushed heavily. "N-nothing! Ignore me!" I immediately turned to Garuru. "W-where do we go now, Lieutenant?"

He was giving me an amused look before he took the map from Tororo and examined it. The gray path was now faded, and the name _Snow White _was written over the old, rickety house on the sheet of paper. An orange path ran up to a long, tall tower, in the middle of an open plain.

"Looks easy enough," Taruru said. "I seriously think that these challenges are getting easier and easier."

"Just ask the Snack Monster over there to _not _accept anymore things from random strangers," Zoruru said with a small huff. "Seriously. This isn't the first time this happened, Tororo."

"I was _hungry_," Tororo folded his arms.

"It's a simulation! It's not even real!"

"…Case in point."

* * *

"At least we're out of that creepy forest now.."

"And we're just getting into the meadow," I said with a small nod.

There was a squeak from behind us, and someone tumbling onto the ground. We turned around and saw Rita on the floor, her arms stretched out in front of her. Taruru was behind her, squatting down to observe something on the grass.

"Taruru!" She said, exasperated. She sat up and dusted her blouse.

"What is it, private?" Garuru inquired, walking up to the light blue Keronian.

"A ladybug!" Taruru explained cheerfully, taking it into his hands. The small red creature crawled up his arm before popping out its wings and flying away.

Tororo rolled his eyes. "Big deal!"

"What? It was pretty!" Taruru laughed.

"Geez, Taruru," Rita muttered, standing up. She gave him a smirk. "Didn't your parents ever teach you to not randomly stop in the middle of a crowd and trip people?"

Taruru's smile faltered somewhat, and to me, his eyes lost their happy shine that was evident before. It didn't seem anyone else noticed though, because he only grinned again, the look losing its apathy. "No, they didn't."

Rita shook her head and folded her arms. "And why not?"

"Just hadn't got the privilege, being an orphan an' all."

That remark startled everyone, especially Rita, whose eyes grew larger the instant the last few words left his mouth. Her lips twitched, her own smiling weakening. His tone was so nonchalant, and chipper, yet… that's what probably made it sound so sad.

"Y-you're…"

"Yup! Been on my own since I was a tadpole! Yup yup~!"

"Um. Taruru-?"

"Let's go everyone!" Taruru cried out, pumping his fist in the air. He gave a sweet chuckle before running ahead of the group, his sprint graduating into a little merry skip. All of us stood there for a second in absolute disbelief. Garuru cleared his throat awkwardly and mumbled along the lines of something similar, taking his place in front of us, though still quite a ways behind the light blue frog.

"Geez, that came out of nowhere," Tororo mumbled from the back, walking slowly behind us.

"He's sensitive about the subject of his parents," Garuru murmured, his eyes moving to Taruru before glimpsing back at Rita. He spoke that from experience, I knew, especially when an expression of empathy crossed his usually stoic face.

"I-I didn't know," She whispered, flustered.

"That's understandable. Neither did I."

* * *

"WHOA. That…. Is a BIG tower," Taruru said, using his hand to block the sun from his face. He gazed over at Garuru. "So, what? This is the next place?"

"It looks like," Stella said, glancing over Garuru's shoulder to look at the map. "I wonder who's up there?"

"Helloooo?" I yelled, cupping my mouth with my hands. "Anybody up there?!"

From the distance up, a small head peeped out from the window.

"Kitty!" Rita screamed, jumping up and down as she waved. "Hiiii!"

We saw the faintest smile cross the trapped princess's lips. "Hey guys!"

"Challenge number three," Zoruru murmured beside me. I jumped, tripping over my feet and landing gracelessly on my behind. He perked a brow at me.

"S-sorry," I stammered.

"What fairytale is Kitty?" Stella asked, folding her arms.

"….Oh!" Rita snapped her fingers. "Rapunzel!"

"Oh!" Stella and I chimed, nodding in agreement.

"That isn't a weird name," Tororo said sarcastically. He moved his hand to the side. "Recap for us, Johnny."

"Well, basically-"

"Does it involve a wicked stepmother?" Zoruru inquired, recalling the last two stories.

"Umm…" I bit my lower lip in thought. "…I… _guess _you can assume so… but in the story _I'm _familiar with, a poor couple living together are starving. The woman is pregnant, and she craves a certain plant- it's called the rapunzel plant, or something- and the man climbs over to a witch's garden to steal it. The witch finds them out, and in exchange for their life, asks to give her their baby girl. The witch takes the baby girl and raises her as her own, locking her in a tower with only one room and one window. In order for the witch to get to the girl- Rapunzel- Rapunzel has to throw her long, long, long hair out the window for the witch to climb up to her. One day a prince comes by and sees what the witch does to go up the tower; curious to see what's up there, he asks her to bring her hair down so that he could climb up. They fall in love-"

"That sounds unrealistic."

"Oh, be romantic once in a while!" Rita said with a small grin. "Doesn't hurt."

Garuru said nothing at this, merely making a small grunt and looking away.

"How do we rescue Kitty?" Zoruru folded his arms, stopped short again, and settled with resting his hands against his waist.

"Um… let me try something." I looked up the tower and cried out, "_Kitty, Kitty, let down your hair!_"

"Not working!" Kitty yelled back down at me. She shook her head, revealing her short locks of black hair. "I don't have long hair!"

"So we have to get her _down,_" Tororo said with a small frown.

"You look cute by the way, Tororo!"

"Never mind, leave her up." Tororo began to walk away, Garuru having to give him a stern look to bring him (grudgingly) back to the group.

"How are we going to get up there?" I muttered, folding my arms.

"Maybe that's the challenge?" Taruru suggested. "Like a puzzle. Maybe there's like some code word to get us up there." He held his arms up. "OPEN SESAME."

Nothing happened.

"Well, it was worth a shot."

"Can't you just like, hop up there?" Stella asked Zoruru.

The ninja made a thoughtful look before he vanished.

All of us barely managed to follow him as he zipped up the tower, scaling the walls with incredible anti-gravitational skill. Just as he was about to reach the window, something resembling a black bird that sat on top of the tower screamed at him and flew to his face, talons scraping painfully against metallic and organic flesh.

Zoruru attempted a slash to the avian, but only managed to shoo it away, being short of proper claws and all. One slip-up, however, was all that was needed to send him down to the ground.

He had landed on his face.

A heart floated above him, and popped once.

"_Ku-ku-ku~ _Four more lives for Lance Corporal Zoruru!"

Stella rushed to him and fanned him with her hand, stars and tiny black birds circling around the cyborg's head.

"What the heck is that?" Taruru squinted his eyes and craned his neck to see.

"I think that's a raven," I said, nodding slightly. "Wow. That's pretty creative."

"_No, _it's _not,_" Tororo said in an exasperated tone. "How are we going to get her down?"

"Maybe we need to find the witch?" Stella looked up at us.

"No, no…"

"Wait." I gazed at Rita. "Maybe Kitty knows; like you did."

"Hey, that's right!" Rita turned her head back at her sister. "HEY SIS! What do we have to do to get you down?!"

The girl in the tower gave us the most insightful words we had heard as of yet:

"I don't know!"

Tororo face palmed.

"Okay… maybe it was just you," I said with a small sigh. I looked up at her. "Kitty! Can you try jumping out?"

"I'm not jumping out!"

"I'm not surprised; I wouldn't either," Stella chuckled nervously, still waving her hand over Zoruru. She glanced at me. "She might also lose all of her hearts; some games do that, you know. Sometimes it'll be game over just because you jumped off a height that was too high."

"True," I mumbled. "And besides, we wouldn't be technically be _rescuing _her."

"That's right." Garuru folded his arms, a troubled expression on his features. "Still…"

"Find a latter!"

The platoon and the partners shot their attention to Kitty. "_What?" _

"Find a latter!" Kitty repeated, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Worth a shot, right?"

"Might be, but I don't want to be running around in a wild duck hunt," Tororo said.

"Wild goose chase," Taruru corrected him.

"It's what I mean, not what I say!"

"But where are we going to find a latter tall enough to reach Kitty?" I inquired.

"…I could throw my bed sheets?"

We all looked up at her again.

"…_YOU COULDN'T HAVE SUGGESTED THAT SOONER?!_" Tororo screamed.

"I didn't even notice I _had _bed sheets! I'm sorry!" She disappeared for a moment, reappearing to show the heap in her hands. "I'm throwing it over!" She did so, the long white trailing down the tower.

"Kitty, Kitty, let down your blanket," I said dryly, failing at an attempt to make joke.

Even Garuru rolled his eyes at that one.

"Sue me, I'm not good at humor," I said with a small shrug.

"Should I climb down, or should you climb up?" Kitty asked.

Garuru and I gave each other a side glance.

"We'll come up!" I yelled. I took a step toward the sheet, only for the Lieutenant to stop me. I looked at him questioningly.

"Allow me," Garuru said. "I said I was going to take on the next activity on my own, after all."

"Be careful of that bird," Zoruru said weakly, regaining his consciousness. "….It's vicious."

"Maybe I should go first?" Taruru drew his sword. "That way, I could distract the bird, and you could get Kitty."

"I'll come with you," Zoruru said, standing up.

While Garuru didn't seem to content with the idea of having others literally fight his battles for him, he consented, seeing as there wasn't much choice on the matter anyway.

"Stay here, Cadet," The purple frog told me. I stared at him, touched. He actually cared for my wellbeing…? "We can't afford to have you up there losing everyone else's hearts."

Whelp. There went his caring-ness, right out the window.

"I'll stay here too," Tororo said, plopping down on the grass.

"Good idea."

The tadpole wasn't too pleased with Garuru's enthusiasm.

"And us?" Stella asked.

"I would appreciate it if you stayed here as well." He turned to Rita. "As do you."

"Okay…"

"Oh well," Tororo sighed. "At least we could just lay back and see what they're up to."

We watched the three frogs scaling the tower carefully, Taruru in the very top, one hand on his sword and the other on the blanket, Zoruru below him, the crossbow in front of him, and Garuru, wielding a weapon anyway, no doubt refusing to be caught unawares.

"Don't you have something too?" Stella inquired, poking at the sword in my sheathe.

"Yeah…"

"But he isn't exactly _good _at it," Tororo said in answer for me. I glared slightly at him, but he shrugged nonchalantly, obviously not so threatened by me. "Scratch that; that was an understatement. He _sucks._"

"Why, you…" I said, though very weakly. I gave him a wry grin and patted his head, which he swatted my hand away in aggravation. Or attempted, my arms being too tall for his small arms to reach. Being the bigger one for once is actually pretty nice; no wonder everyone likes picking on me.

"Um… guys?" Rita backed away. "…I, um… I think we have a problem…"

"Why, hello~"

I jumped and reached for the hilt on my sword. It was an anthropomorphic fox walking toward us, a smile gracing his lips as he stopped at our noticing him.

"My, I was hoping I was going to surprise you~" The fox mused. He had a vest on with a chest pocket, a small golden pocket watch tucked neatly inside it. He picked it out with the chain and observed the time. "Mmm~ Four O'clock. Know what that means, don't you?"

"…No…"

"Tea time," He replied merrily. "Do sit down. I'll prepare a cup for you."

To our surprise, he whipped out an entire table out in front of him, chairs, tablecloth, teacups, plates, silverware and all. He sat down comfortably on one of the chairs and began pouring some tea into one of the cups, gently pushing it to Stella when none of us said anything.

I gazed at Rita warily. She was shaking her head.

"No thanks," She said firmly. "I don't want any."

The fox frowned. "Not a fan of tea?"

"No," I said, perhaps a bit too quickly. I blushed heavily as he turned to look at me. "I-I mean, I don't mean- _we _don't mean to trouble you-"

"I once knew a gingerbread man, before."

Tororo wrinkled his nose. "Gingerbread man?"

"Do you know the gingerbread man? Mm, fine fellow. Very… sweet." The fox licked his lips, and the three Pekoponians- Stella, Rita, and I- shuddered. We knew the story fairly well, this fairytale being one of the more popular and well known.

"So… you met an _actual _gingerbread man?" Tororo asked dubiously. "That's weird."

"Yes, I suppose it is, thinking about it." The fox paused to take a sip from his cup. "Mm." He swallowed, and raised a claw-like finger. "Poor fellow; didn't know whom to trust in this world. Constantly ran away, ran away without any worries. You know," he chuckled, "he was very popular. _Very _popular indeed. Everyone constantly ran after him, you could say. Yes. But the one time he _did _decide to trust in someone, well." He took another sip. "…Let's say that it just didn't end very well."

"What are you getting at?" Tororo asked, perking a brow.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," The fox said with great calm, "I'm just saying to be cautious of whom to put your trust in. There might be someone that may be a tad… corrupted." He leaned back against his chair. "Yes. Corrupted… is the word. Corrupted, corrupted…"

I was so transfixed on his words that I didn't even notice he had been… staring at me. Staring at me with large golden eyes, the orbs twinkling with such mischief and amusement. He was a very magnificent animal, looking at him; he had a very deep, rich auburn color for his fur, his snout with a touch of brown and white. His smile had gone from one of mildness to one of great beguilement, as if he was truly unable to keep back the slightest indication that he was planning on playing a prank on us, or, rather, that he _knew _something was going to happen, but thought it much too fun to spoil the surprise.

The four of us exchanged uneasy looks.

"Well!" The fox slid out of his chair and clapped his hands, startling us from this somewhat dazed reverie. The materials splayed out in front of him vanished in a puff of smoke. "Very nice chatting you with you! Mm, I hope we get to talk again." And he slinked out of sight, literally. Another blink of the eye and he just… disappeared. Gone.

"Where did he-?" Tororo looked around.

"Well that was weird," Rita said plaintively. She looked extremely fascinated, though. "But still! It sounds so exciting, doesn't it?"

I gave her a weak grin. That girl's always so full of energy…

"That was _really _weird," Tororo murmured, troubled. "What did he mean, 'corrupted'?"

"Well, that's the… fox," Stella said slowly. "I think he's from the Gingerbread Man."

"I _know _he's from the Gingerbread Man," I replied. "The way he described him…"

"What's the Gingerbread Man?" Tororo demanded, irritated that he wasn't included in the conversation.

"I'll tell it," Stella said. "You see… once upon a time a little boy wanted to make a yummy gingerbread man. So he did, and put in the oven. His grandpa told him to _not _to open up the oven until it was time to take him out. Well, the little boy opened it anyway, and the little gingerbread man hopped out, completely alive. The whole story is basically trying to get the gingerbread man back, eventually the whole village chasing him down in hopes of catching him and eating him."

"That makes sense, I guess," Tororo shrugged. "What about the fox?"

"The fox…" Rita looked up at the sky. "Well, the gingerbread man met up with the fox near the end of the story. He promises to help hide the little gingerbread man, but instead…"

"…the villagers find nothing but crumbs on the snow," I finished. "Foxes in fairytales are typically portrayed as very cunning animals."

"I think they're also considered cunning in Japan too," Tororo said, completely unfazed by the ending of the story. Huh. Him being a big snack eater I shouldn't have been too surprised. Actually, I shouldn't _be _surprised at all, except I literally cried when I heard the fate of the poor gingerbread man. I seriously couldn't eat one for years fearing it was the very same one. Hey, don't laugh! That was serious child trauma right there!

"So, wait, wait," Tororo put his hands up. "Why would the old man make a fox creature tell us a story in a very creep-like manner?"

"That's a good question," Stella mused. "Being a gamer and stuff, I could honestly say it might be some sort of hint."

"But… 'corrupted'?" Tororo shook his head and crossed his arms. "What could that possibly mean?"

"Maybe it's part of the… level?" I offered.

"Or he could be trying to throw us off," Rita suggested. "He _is _a fox, may I remind you."

"Maybe…" Tororo mulled over that questioning event.

I gazed up at the group: Taruru and Zoruru were on top of the tower now, putting up a vicious fight against the big black avian creature, with the raven putting up a similar one. Garuru was no where in sight; I assumed he was with Kitty.

Just as I was about to call up to him, Garuru jumped on the window sill. Kitty carefully did the same, gingerly grasping onto the cloth in front of her. He gently pushed her onto it and watched as she slid down. The raven seemed to finally realize what was going on, because it gave a loud, piercing screech and dove toward the third princess. Garuru immediately materialized his own sword and jumped onto the sheets, attacking the raven as it shot down toward the ground.

"_Kitty!_" Rita cried out worriedly.

Garuru was above her, slashing at the bird with his metallic blade. Taruru couldn't do anything, his combat being only useful in near range, and Zoruru was attempting to shoot it down with his arrows.

Garuru missed, cursing when the avian swooped down and clawed savagely at Kitty. The girl ducked her head defensively. We watched a small heart float above her head, making a popping sound.

"_Ku-ku-ku~ _Four more lives for Kitty Delonigin~_"_

"Get _away _from her!" Rita snapped, grabbing her shoe and throwing it at the bird. The bird screamed at the pain, and then dove down to attack her instead.

I quickly jumped in front of her and held the sword up. The raven rammed into that instead, its talons coming into contact with the weapon rather than the soft Pekoponian flesh it was looking forward to snagging.

It hissed, tiny numbers floating above it.

"Oh!" Stella said suddenly in understanding.

"W-what?" I stammered, shaking slightly when the bird glowered deeply at me, preparing for another strike.

"You need to knock the numbers down to zero!"

"…Oh!" Rita nodded in understanding, hopping to get the slipper as it boomeranged back to her. "I get it."

"B-but why didn't the trees-?"

"That was level two," Stella reminded us, cautiously making her way to the raven. "This is level _three. _Another example of it getting harder." Without bothering to ask, she grabbed Tororo's little basket and _whopped _the poor bird on the head. More numbers flew out of the raven; this time, I caught them much better. _35, 30, 25... _

I slammed the sword against the raven, and it toppled backwards. No numbers. _Wow. _I _really _suck at this!

An arrow pierced the bird through the heart. It screamed.

20, 15, 10...

It flew up into the air, the arrow breaking apart. I could just feel the wind flapping off of that bird's powerful wings, and I shuddered.

How real _was _this so-called virtual game…?

"I made it."

I heard Rita run up to her sister and hug her cheerfully.

Garuru hopped to the ground, his sword ready. "Yet I doubt this is over yet." I gazed over at Kitty. She had a salmon pink dress that ran all the way down to her ankles, a dark coat over it. She had that interesting cone-shaped hat with the little ribbon piling out from the top, and it looked like Tororo was resisting the temptation to tease her about it. She ignored him.

"Look out!"

Taruru swung his blade down to the raven, jumping from the cloth to the ground.

5, 0...

The bird disintegrated, its matter floating up to the sky.

A bright light enveloped Kitty, and a crown floated above her head.

"_Ku-ku-ku~ Level three completed~"_

When the light had dimmed down, Kitty was wearing a small tiara on her head, Tororo's insignia at the center. Her dress had shrunk to look more like a blouse instead, the dark blue sweater stretching down to make it look more like a trench coat. Regular jeans with the same shoes… and the same cone, just inside the crown.

"Nice hat," Tororo said, fighting a grin.

Kitty gave him a '_don't even_' look. "_Nice hood._"

Tororo scowled.

"By the way, you _all _look cute," Kitty affirmed with a smile. She gazed over at me and Garuru. "Especially you two; you have no idea how surprised I was when Garuru came in through my window looking like that."

More dignity flushed down the toilet. Bye bye, I doubt we'll be seeing you again soon…

"So what goes on?" Kitty asked, tucking a hand in her coat.

Tororo filled her in, keeping it simple to make it easier for this writer to get through this chapter.

...I just... I just broke the fourth wall again, didn't I?

"Cool!" Kitty's eyes glittered from behind her glasses. She looked at her hands, as if expecting them to turn a completely different color. "This is so cool! Do you have any idea how lucky we are?"

"...Yeah, we're _very _lucky," Tororo muttered, shaking his head irritably.

"This level's finally done," I breathed, relieved. "Two more to go."

"They're going to get harder," Stella reminded us, folding her arms. "I just know they are."

"Yeah, we know," Tororo sighed. He snatched the basket from Stella, who was still holding it, and promptly opened it up to get the map that was inside. He handed it to Garuru. "Here."

Garuru accepted it and unrolled the map.

The name _Rapunzel _was written over the picture of the long, tall tower, and a pink trail ran up to a big, beautiful image of a castle.

And another creepy forest.

_Wonderful._

_...__To be Continued_

* * *

**...What? Did... did I say it was going to come out in two parts? **

**...**

**HAHAHAHHAHAHA. **

**Seriously. This whole chapter was actually supposed to _be _the end, but it came out in 22 pages. 22. PAGES. Over 15,000 words long. Ohboy. I'm not even _done _yet. **

**So... I decided to just submit it in three parts instead.**

OH WELL. I hope you enjoyed... sorry, I'm high on coffee. Hurt me. Hurt me _now. _


	21. My Inspiration- Pt 3

**DAY NINETEEN, WORD NINETEEN: MY INSPIRATION (PART III)**

* * *

While the other forest was dead and resembling curling fingers, this one was full of life, yet still very… eerie. I suppose it didn't help the fact that the sun dropped suddenly on our way inside, the moon over us, clouds thin and misting against it. It was so dark, occasional crunching making our group shuffle a little closer together, a wolf howl or two heard from the distance.

"S-so…" I whispered, encouraging conversation to avert this awful feeling. "Who do you think we'll find next?"

Taruru bent his arms behind his neck. "Lessee…. We got Rita, Kitty, and Stella. So all we need is Pururu and Ruby, right?"

"Right…" I nodded slightly. "I wonder what fairytales their levels are based on…"

"Hm." Rita pondered at this. "Good question."

"Are those howls… are those howls getting louder?" Tororo said, looking at Garuru.

Garuru gazed down at the New Recruit before looking about him. I guess he also agreed, because he materialized his sword then and there.

We each drew our own weapons, Stella and Kitty giving each other an anxious look.

"Johnny?" Stella asked softly. "What do we do?"

"Just, um… J-just stay behind me," I replied, waving my back behind me.

"You can use him as a shield," Taruru snickered.

We ignored him.

The world that moment then just… froze. Absolutely froze. All the night creatures we heard were muted, and the gentle, slight swaying of the trees stopped, making everything just… dead silent. Frozen.

Just as I was about to speak up, a husky, murmuring voice began to whisper a song that just came at us from… everywhere.

"_..Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?"_

I turned my head sharply to the side, as did the others, trying desperately to search for the source of the singer.

"_The big bad wolf, the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf…?_"

Tororo seemed to be the most terrified for some reason, and I could understand why... knowing the story. He quickly grabbed Kitty's pants leg, very visibly shaking at the freaky chant that had begun swirling around us.

"Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?"

The song stopped short with a devious cackle as loud, piercing howls filled the air. All of us reached for and held our ears, cringing at the unnerving sound. As it died down, the very creatures responsible for those howls began to reveal themselves; a somewhat anthropomorphic wolf, more wolf than man.

They stood on their hind legs, and that was perhaps the only human-like aspect they possessed. Their heads, their snouts, their claws all screamed something belonging to a different creature. Their fur colors ranged from black to brown to blond, though they all shared the same blood-red eyes that bore into our skulls, making tragically sure that you never forgot their gruesome faces.

"Little Red Riding Hood…" The one in the center said soothingly. He was the largest of them all, his own dark, dark brown fur bristling, his fangs appearing the most threatening as they stretched to a grim smirk. "Where are you going? What do you have there, in that little basket of yours?"

Tororo said nothing, instead choosing to hide behind Kitty. The girl put a protective hand over him, like a mother would in response to a creep that was offering candy to her child.

"Are you going to rescue the princess? …Would you mind telling me where she is~?"

"…_Man, _this is creepy," I murmured.

"Level four," Tororo said softly. He burrowed his face against Kitty's legs. "L-let's just get this over with, okay?"

Garuru delivered the first strike, slashing against wolf nearest to him. To our irritation, numbers flew out of the creature. Great.

50, 45...

"You're going to have to pick up the pace, Johnny," Taruru said, his stern voice trying to combine his typical cheerful tone.

I nodded meekly. "I-I'll try."

"_Ku-ku-ku~!_"

I yelped. "Don't _DO _that!"

"I guess I'll have to provide you with yet _another _hint," Kururu sighed. "Ku. Look inside the pest's basket. That's where the other two partners have their own weapons. Ku-ku! Have fun!"

Before we had a chance to say anything else, the screen turned black. Again.

I sighed.

"Cool! I got whips!"

I turned to see Kitty playing with long pieces of ropes, snapping it at the ground.

"And I have… apples." Aw. Poor Stella. I could actually hear the disappointment in her voice.

"Kururu said that our weapons work mainly on accuracy," I explained, dodging the swiping claw of an approaching wolf. "Yipe. U-uh…" I swung my sword toward it… only to have it fly out of my hands.

"Butterfingers," Zoruru said with an exasperated glance. He distracted the creature in front of me, urging me with great annoyance to fetch my sword, and I did so in complete obedience and utter embarrassment.

BOOM.

"No fair! Why does she get bombs?" Taruru whined, watching Stella with the small red fruits in her hand.

"I think they're grenades," She corrected him, grinning. "Never mind what I said about the apples! This is awesome!"

Rita and Kitty were off to the side, also pillaging these wolves, killing them off slowly but surely.

I had to keep reminding myself that this was a game; I guess you were _supposed _to have fun. With that in mind and the sword in my hand, I made another lunge toward a wolf. It simply moved one step to the side, tripping me with its extended foot.

It gave a cross between a human's laugh and a wolf's amused bark.

Mm. Even in a virtual game, the ground still doesn't taste that good.

Focus.

I pounded my weapon against the wolf's chest, and it gave a whine that made my heart bleed. It reminded me of my little dog when I accidentally stepped on her paw or something.

Great.

This game is now making me feel bad about hurting the villains. Geez, I would make a horrible video gamer.

"Little Red, Little Red…"

"G-get _away _from me! _Ipe!_"

"_Ku-ku-ku~ _Four more lives for New Recruit Tororo!"

I punched the wolf away from him, my sword flying off somewhere.

100, 95...

Cool. I actually managed to score some damage. Err, I would totally be mentally celebrating if it wasn't now turned to me.

Oh dear. It was the bigger wolf…

I backed away a step.

It snarled. "_You will pay for that, weakling…_" It slashed at my face, and I fell back, grabbing at the pain-inflicted wound. _Ugh… it hurt… _

Pop.

"_Ku-ku-ku~ _Three more lives for Johnny Cadet!"

The wolf gave a throaty yelp as Garuru jumped in between us, delivering blows that would prove to be fatal in the real world. The leader of this wolf tribe's number was decreasing rapidly.

75, 70, 65...

It eventually gave up trying to fight the purple Keronian and ran to another section, hoping to go for weaker prey, not that the Lieutenant would let him. Garuru trailed after it, blade glinting in hand.

"Uh… hey."

I looked down at the tadpole, who was gripping the handle of his basket and staring down at the ground.

"…Thanks."

I smiled. "No problem."

* * *

"Has anyone seen the larger wolf?"

All of us gazed about, panting slightly from our excursion. All the wolves were gone, being killed to death and stuff. The woods seemed a little less menacing because of it, making us relax a little more.

"Didn't we kill it?" Rita asked, taking a deep breath.

Garuru seemed troubled as he dissipated his weapon. "I don't know."

Truthfully, I wasn't paying too much attention. All I was aware of was that most of us actually lost hearts during this challenge; I was worried that if this was hard, what the last level was like- and then I realized that this challenge wasn't even over yet.

"…I have a feeling he fled," Garuru continued, snapping me out of my thoughts. "He might attack us later… just… keep an eye out."

"Hey, Tororo," Taruru stuck his sword in his sheathe.

Tororo looked mildly annoyed. "_What._"

"I noticed that you were looking a bit… erm, different is the better word-"

"Just _say _it."

"Were you afraid of the wolves, Tororo?" Zoruru intercepted, walking toward them.

Tororo bit his lower lip and looked down. "There was just something _about _them, okay? I don't know why."

"Well," Rita mused, "Little Red Riding Hood is basically a story about the main character trying to get her goodies to her grandma. Then she's stopped by a wolf- and the wolf convinces her to tell her where she's going. The wolf takes a shortcut to the grandma's house, eats the grandma, and disguises himself as her so that when Little Red comes by, he'll eat her next." She shrugged. "I'm honestly not that surprised that you were scared of them. This game probably programmed the character 'Little Red Riding Hood' to be scared of them.

"I… guess…" Tororo said slowly, glancing at Garuru… nervously?

"Where do we go now, Garuru?" Kitty asked politely. She paused and irritably batted the ribbon from her hat behind her head.

"The castle," Garuru explained, taking the map from Tororo and examining it. "We're almost there."

* * *

"Hey, Johnny." I felt something pull me back by the ridiculous cape I was wearing. I automatically assumed it was a tree, until I realized I should probably connect the pulling with the voice that just said my name. I looked down.

"Yeah, Tororo?"

"…Come back with me."

"…Come back?"

Tororo nodded, gesturing toward the back of the group.

"Something wrong?" Kitty inquired.

"N-no, I just wanted to talk to Johnny about something."

Kitty tilted her head. "What about?"

"…Um… _Guy _stuff," Tororo said quickly, emphasizing the 'guy' part and giving her a little glower.

"I'm curious," Kitty said with a grin.

"_Please_," Tororo said, sighing exasperatedly. "I want to talk to Johnny alone."

"Hm," Kitty folded her arms. "…Okay. Are you guys going to at least fill me in-?"

"Depends," Tororo replied, yanking at my cape again. He seemed to be in something of a hurry. "We'll be in the back of the group."

Before we could hear Kitty's response, Tororo pulled me all the way back like he said he would, and when we were a reasonable distance from anyone able to eavesdrop, he turned his attention up at me.

"…Should I be concerned?" I asked him.

"You're _always _concerned, so it would make no difference if you were concerned now." Tororo glimpsed back at the group before turning back to me. "…But I'm serious. Um." He scratched the back of his neck. "…I'm scared."

I blinked at him, and then looked around. Why was he telling _me _this?

I guess he must've read my puzzled expression, because he continued, "You just don't seem like the type of guy to tease me, alright? ….I'm scared."  
"What are you scared of?" I looked around for that television-like device Kururu kept around, but then dismissed that fact that he was probably already watching us anyway.

Tororo must've realized the same thing, because then he completely stopped me and made me lean down to let him whisper in my ear.

"I'm scared of the Lieutenant; I don't know why."

"The Lieutenant?" I repeated, mouthing the word.

Tororo nodded uneasily. "I-I mean-" He beckoned me to follow him as we began to regain distance between the group, "-…I was fine with him _before _the… weird wolf thing." Tororo shuddered at this. "But after… I'm just _terrified _of him, as if he was-"

"-One of the wolves?" I made a face. Tororo nodded again, biting his finger as he gazed at the purple Keronian.

I rubbed my own neck. "Hm."

"I-if I told the others, they would've laughed at me," Tororo murmured. "Told me that it was all in my head. B-but… I'm _scared. _I'm really scared… and I don't know why…"

"Maybe it's the association with the wolf on his hat?" I attempted. "He does kind of remind me of a wolf, you know; like, the leader of a wolf pac-"

"Don't say that. Imagining us all as wolves-"

I grinned wryly. "I-I'm sorry." Then I folded my arms in thought. "…But you know… that may not be the thing. The thing that's bothering might just be 'wolves', you know? Your character is designed to be afraid of them; it might just be a sort of 'defense mechanism' or something like that."

"So you don't believe me," Tororo said flatly.

I gently reached down and pat his back. "I do. I'm just saying that it might not be… _you _who's afraid of the Lieutenant. It just might be the character."

Tororo still seemed a little unsure about this, but he nodded anyway. "Okay." He picked up his pace. "I'm going to go see Kitty."

"You gonna tell her?"

Tororo stopped briefly, considering this. "…I might."

* * *

The castle was a mixture of sophistication, age, and terror. Seriously. What my mom would _give _to explore a building like this.

"Great. Are we going to have to fight again?" Taruru asked us, reaching for his sword again.

There was an enormous crowd of people, all holding torches and pitchforks or some kind of weapon.

"Only one way to find out, right?" I asked as I walked up to them anxiously. "Hi."

The man in charge turned to look at me, his large, muscular face arranged to form a very annoyed frown. "Yes, yes, what is it?"

"Um…" I coughed into a closed palm. "…What are you doing?"

"We're here to destroy the beast."

"The beast?" I perked a brow.

"A beast is keeping a maiden in there, trapped," The man said, pointing at the walls of the castle with his pitchfork.

"Really." I crossed my arms.

"Beauty and the beast," Rita said cheerfully.

"I was just about to say that," Kitty pouted.

Rita smirked at her older sister before turning to the crowd. "So a beast's in there?"

"Yup."

"…Why don't you go in it?"

The man in charge glanced at the group, who shuffled their feet together.

"…Err, the thing is…"

"The monster is _huge!_" One of the men behind them cried out in a high pitched squeaky voice. "It has fangs that reach down to the floor! It reeks of the flesh of dead people he's killed!"

"That… sounds fascinating…" Zoruru said from behind me. I jumped slightly and got out of his way, backing toward Stella, who gently caught my shoulders and set me to the side of her. "But completely implausible. _Fangs that reach to the floor? _How would he walk?"

Apparently the mob hadn't thought of that. Still, they were blocking our way to the main entrance; the gate. No one wanted to move.

"We'll slay the beast for you!"

The mob turned to Taruru, who valiantly held his sword up in the air. The murmured approvingly, nodding as they parted to let our party pass.

"Well done, Private," Garuru muttered, as he walked by Taruru.

The light blue Keronian beamed, grinning up at Rita, who rolled her eyes playfully.

Kitty gazed at big wooden doors of the castle unsurely. "…Hm. How are we going to get in?"

Garuru answered her question by leaning his arms against it and pushing hard. The door gave in, creaking loudly as it opened.

"…Well that was easy enough."

Rita looked around eagerly. "Hey! Where's the dancing candlestick and the singing dresser?"

Garuru gazed at Kitty quizzically, who shrugged and gave him a "what-can-you-do" expression. "She likes Disney movies."

"This story doesn't require some sort of kiss, does it?" Garuru asked me, turning to look up at me.

"Well, actually," I gave him a small smile. "This story starts off with a man who is looking around to find a gift for his daughter. He comes across a garden, and finds a beautiful rose. The man takes the rose without even thinking it belongs to someone else, and a beast comes and demands that the man pay for his life for the rose. The man bargains his daughter instead, and the beast agrees. The man leaves the girl with the beast, and as time goes on, the beast and the girl fall in love-"

"Do all of these Western fairytales have something to do with love?" Garuru questioned, frowning at the thought.

"…Well… yeah. But I think it was because… back then, poor people had so much to hope and dream for… and these little stories are their hopes and dreams passed down after their generation."

"It still sounds unrealistic," Garuru affirmed with a small grunt. He gazed about.

"So if this 'Beauty and the Beast'…" Zoruru frowned. "…Then… where's the beast?"

Loud footsteps echoed down from somewhere; all of us prepared ourselves as we grabbed at our weapons. The footsteps got louder and louder, more excitable too, it seemed.

Suddenly, they stopped. The tension increased…

"Hi guys!" Ruby cried out from the top of the staircase.

All of us fell backwards.

"What?" Ruby looked slightly offended. "You didn't expect to see me?"

"No, no," I shook my head, standing up from the ground. "It's just…" I glanced around warily. "…Where's the beast?"

"…The beast?"

"We were told there was some sort of beast inside," Garuru explained.

Rita gave of a puzzled face as she shook her head. "…No. No, there's no beast here. I've just been stuck here for such a long time…"

"Were you okay here?" I asked her. Something didn't feel right about this at all, but I seriously couldn't put my finger on it.

"I was alone and bored, but I had my music with me, so it was all good," She replied cheerfully, demonstrating as she pulled her iPod out of her pocket.

The young girl was wearing a light purple dress with a white apron over it that looked quite ordinary compared to the other princesses'. Her dark hair was tied back with a ribbon of the same color, pulling it all away from her face.

I scratched the side of my face as I turned to look down at the Lieutenant.

..And then something weird happened. I could've sword that I saw… I don't know… something fidget, like a shadow. Something dark slip across the floor onto Garuru's shadow. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, wondering if it was all in my head, and when I reopened them, everything was fine.

"…Are you alright, Cadet?"

"…Eh?" I realized that I must've been staring. I blushed heavily. "I-I'm sorry!"

"Why are you apologizing?" Garuru asked me, although I knew he knew better to. "I asked you if you were alright."

"I-I'm fine," I stammered. I laughed weakly.

Tororo spoke up to quicken the pace, "So how do we rescue Rub-?"

At that instant, a crown floated about Ruby's head, and a white light flashed over her.

"_Ku-ku-ku~ _Level four completed~"

Ruby had a tiara with Pururu's symbol sitting delicately on her head, and her dress had- surprise, surprise- shrunk up to her hips, although the apron had shrunk too. She wore skinny jeans with sneakers that she could easily run in.

…Wait.

…_How_ the heck does this Kururu guy-?

You know what? Not going there. Nuh uh. _Not _going there.

"That was… easy," Tororo noted, looking over cautiously to Garuru.

"There was no beast," I murmured. "…That's… really weird."

"Hey, Kururu-!"

"Don't question him!" Tororo scowled to Taruru, who was just beginning to cry out for the older Keronian. "I don't care; as long as we can get out of this stupid game, It'll be okay, okay?"

Taruru shrugged and puckered his lips. "That sucks, though. I was having fun."

"Your _fun _could mean your life!" Tororo said, perhaps even a bit too over exaggeratedly, even for me. He wagged a finger at him. "You only have _one _life left, might I remind you!"

Taruru grinned at this, remembering the two hearts he had lost during the battle with the wolves. "Oh, well. At least I can tell my kids it was worth it."

"You have _kids?_" Rita asked him, shocked. "How old _are _you-?"

"He doesn't _have _any kids!" Tororo yelled, waving a fist in the air.

I smiled. At least he was back to normal; that little scared act was getting me a little scared myself.

"So, what?" Ruby asked, after being filled in by Stella. "The last princess to rescue is-?"

"-Pururu," I finished, nodding. I sighed, my complete body beginning to ease upon realizing that this game was almost over. "Yes. Where we off to now, Lieutenant?"

Garuru was frozen, just standing there. I waved my hand in his face. "…Lieutenant?"

He snapped out of it, jumping in completely bewilderment. That was… weird.

"Yes, Cadet?" Garuru turned to me, regaining his stoic composure.

"Where…" I gave him a suspicious look. "…Are you okay?"

"Mm. Lost in thought. What did you want to ask me?"

"Where are we off to next?"

Garuru took the map from Tororo- and didn't notice the tadpole practically threw it to him before he scampered off behind Kitty- and looked at it.

Over the castle was the name '_Beauty'_. A light purple trail ran up to our final destination- a larger, more Gothic castle, black, with a thorny forest that surrounded it.

I'm starting to get _really _sick of those stupid forests.

* * *

"Here we are…"

Thorns surrounded the entrance to the forest- no, wait… the thorns _were _the forest. The thorns were either in clusters or scattered about, its spikes ranging from a few centimeters to an inch in length.

We were guessing that even running to one of the larger ones by accident could cost us a life.

Garuru waved his hand behind him, directing his gesture to Taruru. "Stay b-between the group. We can't afford to lose you."

"D'aw, thanks Lieutenant," Taruru said with a wide smile, following his leader's direction.

"You cold?" I asked the purple frog, noticing his stutter.

Garuru glanced at me. "No. I'm fine."

"Oh." Hm. That was weird.

"Tororo," Garuru called out to the little tadpole. "Come up here. We'll be able t-to keep a close eye on you."

"I'll take care of him," Kitty interjected, her hand on Tororo's helmet. "It's okay, I got him."

So Tororo told her about his fears after all. By the looks of it, he seemed relieved that he did so, too; clutching on to Kitty's pants leg.

"….Very well then," Garuru said slowly.

"This game was fun," Stella said brightly, earning an eye roll from the cyborg. "I hope we get to play another one like this soon."

"Don't get too excited," Zoruru said with a sharp glare to his partner. "The last level was admittedly difficult; more so than the others. I can only imagine what challenge this will prove to be."

Stella nodded in agreement. "True. But that's what the game so much fun! You wouldn't have fun with a game that was too _easy._" She gazed down at him thoughtfully. "It's the same for you. Would you rather have a battle with someone that was too easy to beat, or someone that was actually a challenge?"

Zoruru blinked at this, before huffing a "_Point taken._" and turning away.

"_Ku-ku-ku~ _Congratulations; you've made it this far~!"

I fell backwards again, this time against Ruby.

She squeaked as she landed on the ground also- _domino effect._

"H-hey!" She exclaimed weakly. I rolled off of her, my face burning a dark red color.

"S-sorry!"

"It's fine." She patted the dust off of herself.

"How does it feel, ku?" Kururu asked, his device hovering above us playfully.

"It sucks," Tororo pouted.

"Ku! My, you're actually beginning to _regret _having this game end~? I'm so flattered~" To creep the little tadpole out, Kururu blushed and rose his hands to his cheeks in mock bashfulness.

Tororo turned pale before his color gradually turned bright red with anger. "_I MEANT THE STUPID GAME, OLD MAN!_ This _GAME _sucks! It's too hard, we all look like idiots, and your last level was too uncreative!"

"…Ku. _Uncreative?_" Kururu frowned at this, an obvious irritation overcoming his features. "…Ku-ku… What do you mean?"

"The last level was Beauty and the Beast, right?" Tororo retorted. I could feel a little bit of pride envelope him, like he was only happy to point out the faults in his rival; something I guessed wasn't very often. "Pu-pu! Yeah _right_. The only mention of 'Beauty and the Beast' was the mob outside the castle! There was no beast inside, old man! What, couldn't come up with something more, I dunno, _imaginative?"_ He made a little scoff. "Pu-pu! _I _could've designed a better challenge."

"…There… was no _beast _inside the castle?" Kururu repeated. It was strange not hearing that signature laugh somewhere in his sentence. It sounded kind of… eerie. Kururu gazed down at his keyboard quizzically. "…Hm."

"Wait…" Taruru's usual smile eased. "…There was actually supposed to be a beast in there?"

Ruby looked a little scared. "…Does that mean that the beast went _lose?_"

"…Ku." The Keronian typed something rapidly on his keyboard- being something of a writer myself, I found myself lost in the speed of his fingers. His voice snapped me out of it, "…There _was _supposed to be a beast in that castle. I supposed when I transferred the SimCube to you, the data somehow got lost. Ku-ku." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh well. I suppose you got a free pass to the next level. Ku-ku!"

"…What were we supposed to do?" I asked, my curiosity once again getting the better of me.

"Ku. The beast was supposed to be guarding the fourth princess." Kururu examined the girls before pointing at Ruby. "Her. Even if you got to the fourth princess, he wasn't going to let you pass. You had to battle him before you could continue on, ku-ku."

"I see." _Phew. _If the wolves were hard, I could only imagine what the beast would have been like.

"You know," Kururu went on, "Originally, I was going to have the princesses disappear once you rescued them. Though," he grinned, making me shiver again, "what would be the fun of that? Ku-ku." Kururu jumped up slightly and turned his attention somewhere else, looking off to the side of his own room somewhere. "Ku. What do _you _want?"

A cheerful voice from somewhere answered, "Like, I just wanted to make you some curry!" Pause. "…What's that?"  
"Nothing," Kururu said quickly.

The girl promptly ignored him and peeked at us; she had dark skin, with blond hair pushed to the side, wide, innocent looking brown eyes. She gasped delightedly. "Are these the Pekoponians from America? You can say, aloha!" She waved.

Taruru, Ruby, Rita, Kitty, Stella, and I waved back.

"Ku-ku! Get- _away!_" Kururu pushed her out of sight.

"Aww, who was that?" Ruby asked him.

"Nobody _important, _ku." Kururu said, completely annoyed.

"I ship you two," Kitty said suddenly, nodding affirmatively as she pulled up her glasses.

Kururu, again, looked aggravated. "…Ku. Have fun completing the hardest part of the game. _Try not to get killed. _Ku-ku! _Sayonara._" He snapped his fingers, and the screen went dark.

A thought came to mind. "…Hey, Garuru?" The purple frog was standing still again. I worriedly waved my hand over his face, and he shook his head. He gazed up at me.

"Yes?"

"Garuru, are you okay? Please answer me."

Garuru stared at me for a moment, and I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised. All this time I've been mostly calling him 'Lieutenant', the only exception when I first met him, but only because I didn't know what else to call him. I guess he just realized this, because instead of his typical dismissive reply, he looked down.

"…I don't know." The answer sounded genuine, which truthfully scared me. "I d-don't know."

His voice was usual, except for the stutter. But he didn't sound cold, or afraid, or sick. The problem was that he sounded _normal. _What was wrong with him?

"It's p-probably just the game, Cadet," Garuru said, gazing back up at me. "You have nothing to worry about. It'll all be over s-soon. Now," He folded his arms. "what was it that you wanted to ask me?"

"…Oh…" While I appreciated his initiative to change the subject for my sake, that thought that there might be something wrong with him still bothered me. Still, I guess I could just leave it at that for now… "…Um… right. Uh…" I gently prodded Garuru's shoulder with a hand, gesturing for him to continue walking. "…I just noticed something. How could we understand you guys?"

"…I beg your pardon?"

"Language-wise," I explained. "I mean… you guys are from a different planet. Yet… um… you speak English. And then there's that Kururu guy… and he's in Japan, you said earlier, yeah? …Well, he spoke to us in perfect English. I'm just curious as to how…?"

Garuru pointed at the insignia on his forehead. "This device has many uses; one of them being the ability to be able to communicate with the species of a planet by locating the nearest language within a certain perimeter. I actually spoke a different language before I met you."

"Spanish," I said suddenly, recalling that my neighbors were Mexican.

"Yes."

"But what about Kururu?" Rita asked suddenly, jumping into our conversation. "He isn't here; how could he communicate with us through a TV screen?"

"I'm sure he had his way," Garuru mused. "He's an inventor, if you didn't notice before. It's safe to assume he created a device to enable him to speak to many different languages around the planet."

"Cool." I said it before, and I'll say it again; alien technology is so _cool._

* * *

"Is it just me, or have we been walking for days?"

Tororo's the impatient one. Aw, how cute.

For your information, the sun didn't come back up again, making this already creepy forest even creepier. Hm. Why do I doubt I'll be able to enter a forest without thinking of this momentous occasion again?

"Yes, Tororo," Zoruru replied briskly, "We've been wandering around this entire thorny forest for _days. _If we don't have food soon, we may have to eat the weakest among us to survive. First we'll eat you, and then we'll eat Cadet." He paused in mock consideration. "I think I'll eat you in barbecue sauce. Nothing like a juicy little tadpole grilled in _barbecue sauce._"

Tororo scowled at him. "I get it, I get it! It's just we've been walking for so long, I can't help but feel we're-"

"-in a maze?"

Everyone stopped to stare at me. I blushed profusely. "I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"Why are you apologizing?" Ruby asked, resting a hand on a hip. "I think you might be on to something."

"…You do?"

"Yeah." Stella nodded. "I think so too."

"It sounds p-plausible," Garuru said in agreement. "Yes. We may have been walking in circles the whole time."

"…But what about the map?" I looked at the roll of paper in Garuru's hands. "Doesn't it tell you how to get out of here?"

Garuru shook his head. "No." He showed it to me; all there was to the map was the picture before. A thick thorny forest with the castle at the end. No paths were shown.

"So I guess we'll just have to remember where we were…" Stella said slowly.

"…Hey, Tororo?" Rita pointed at his basket. "Can I see that?"

The younger Keronian gave her a look, defending his little basket. "Why?"

"I just want to see if there's anything useful in there."

Tororo thought for a moment before he gave it to her moodily. Everyone seemed to go after the poor guy's basket.

"Hey, you're useful," I told Tororo. "You may not be able to fight- m-m-me neither! I-I can't fight either, m-may I remind you- but you're useful. Your basket has been carrying lots of things that we need."

"He's right, you know," Kitty said with a sweet smile. "Even though you are completely useless in the battlefield, you're really handy with that little basket of yours."

"Thanks… I think."

"I hope Pururu's alright," Ruby said, gazing at me.

"Sh-she can handle herself," Garuru told her assuredly.

"Not saying she can't but…" Her voice drifted slightly. "…I don't know. What if she doesn't have much of a choice but to stay as a damsel in distress?"

None of us could really counter what she just said, because it was true. The platoon's original weapons were exchanged for ones that would best fit their character, and each time we came to 'rescue' each of the girls, they were literally helpless. Rita in a bubble, Stella in a coma, Kitty in a tower, and Ruby in a castle. Time would only tell to see what kind of a fix Pururu was in.

"I found it!"

All of us jumped, turning to Rita, who was holding up a large loaf of bread.

"…We're going to eat?" Taruru asked.

"_No,_" Rita replied with a shake of her head. "Don't you guys remember some kind of _fairytale _that used a loaf of bread?"

"…Jack and Jill!" I cried out, holding up a finger.

"Um…" Rita giggled. "No. Sorry, Johnny. It's Hansel and Gretel."

"…Oh." I blushed. "Hehe. S-sorry. That's, what… um. Th-that's what I meant."

"Hansel and Gretel used breadcrumbs to find their way back home when their stepmother wanted to keep them away," Rita said in explanation.

"And that's it?" Tororo asked, perking a brow. "The animals won't come by and eat it?"

Rita stopped short. "…Well…"

"That's what happened in the original story," Kitty said with a small, weak grin. "But Kururu left it for us, so… it has to be part of the challenge, right?"

"Correct," Garuru nodded. "I-it will keep us from r-r-repeating our actions."

"..You alright, chief?" Taruru asked slowly. "You k-k-k-keep stammering."

Garuru growled at Taruru's attempt to joke about the matter. "I'm fine. I honestly s-see nothing wrong with me; j-just this st-stuttering."

…Was it just me, or was he getting worse?

"I'm f-fine, Cadet," Garuru told me, looking away.

"…Okay," I said quietly.

* * *

"Wow, you were right!" Stella said cheerfully as we turned to a different route. "There's the breadcrumbs, right where we left them!"

"And it seems that we have an unlimited supply of loaves," Rita said, taking off a bit and sprinkling the crumbs behind her. "I actually feel like we're going farther."

"As do I," Garuru nodded. "Well d-done."

Before Rita could reply, she was interrupted by a roar.

That's right: a _roar. _

I could honestly say that I can't describe it; I've never, _ever _heard it before in real life. The only thing that would come to mind were the movies I've watched about dinosaurs, or even the _Jurassic Park _ride in the Universal Studios amusement park.

I grabbed at my ears again. _Please let this be the last time I hear a loud noise… _

I somehow doubted it, though.

Could you tell that I'm suffering…? Laugh. I dare you. LAUGH AT MY PAIN.

"What was that?" Taruru asked worriedly.

"…A dragon."

I looked at Rita. She certainly was very genre-savvy about fairytales, I noted. Wow. Come to think of it, she's been the one guessing everyone's fairytales thus far, even her own.

…I did a mental check to give her a cookie if I ever got the chance.

"A _dragon?_" Tororo widened his eyes.

"You know what that is, right?" I asked the platoon. They nodded vaguely. "Well-" There was another shriek of a roar that screamed from somewhere on the other side of the thorny forest. I winced. "…You'll find out on your own."

"I-it sounds d-d-dangerous," Garuru muttered, materializing a sword.

"We don't know that," Rita said. "They might be really nice! Some dragons are-"

Fire blew in the sky, turning the night blackness into a terrifying yellow-orange.

"…I take it back."

With the darkness gone, we felt utterly exposed to the brutal nature around us- or, rather, the monster that awaited us at the end of the forest.

We silently walked on.

* * *

Holey son of a flipping biscuit.

The dragon had black, glistening scales, smoke coming in thin wisps out of its nostrils. Its bright yellow eyes glowed like the hot, hot coals of a fiery furnace, its mouth agape to reveal pointed, deadly teeth in preparation of tearing apart flesh.

And it was on top of the castle, waiting for us.

It released another roar.

"L-level five," Garuru murmured.

"The last one," I confirmed.

"Be careful," Rita told Taruru. "You have only one life left."

Taruru grinned up at her. "I'll be fine!"

The girl responded by gently knocking on his helmet. "Fine. Just don't die on me."

"Are you going to be okay, Tororo?" Kitty asked.

Tororo stuck out his lower lip. "What do I look like, a girl?"

"_Excuse _me?"

"You don't have to worry about me," Zoruru said to Stella dismissively.

"I wasn't."  
He replied by giving her an exasperated glare.

Ruby looked somewhat lonely without anyone to fuss over.

"She's fine," I assured her.

"I know," she said slowly. "I know."

"Wanna bet Pururu's in there?" Taruru questioned, pointing his sword toward the highest tower on the castle. I suppose it actually wasn't even something to _guess _about; the dragon was curled protectively over it. A serpentine tongue slid out from the corners of its mouth, daring us to come closer.

"We have to rescue to princess," I said unnecessarily. I drew my sword.

"We'll distract the dragon," Zoruru said with a small nod. "You and the Lieutenant go; we'll take care of it."

Garuru and I exchanged looks.

"…Okay."

* * *

I covered my ears and ducked my head, wincing at the painful sound.

"C-Cadet," Garuru snapped. "Th-the d-dragon is just going to keep r-roaring- y-you have to get u-u-used to it."  
The inside of the castle walls were dark and gloomy; we passed by bodies upon bodies of people, and I wondered vaguely if they were dead.

"This story sounds familiar," I murmured.

"I-it sh-should b-be."

I glanced down at him, immediately looking away when he noticed me. His stuttering was getting worse… either he was trying to keep that fact to himself or he… genuinely didn't even realize it.

Which was… odd.

"_Ku-ku-ku._"

Something about the chuckle of the sergeant major sounded… ominous.

"…_Game over for Private Taruru._"

I shuddered, my heart thudding violently against my chest.

"I-it's a game, C-Cadet," Garuru reminded me. "Y-y-you have nothing t-to worry a-a-about."

Each room we passed by held a certain degree of royalty; drapes of different colors ran down the walls, flashes of gold made us squint when it hit the light just right, and the guards… that were on the floor.

It was then that I noticed that these people's chests were moving up and down… though just barely.

"They're asleep," I said, blinking at them.

"Oh?" Garuru gazed at me. "I a-assumed they were d-d-d-d-d-dead."

That scared me a little. "Lieutenant-?"

"_Ku-ku-ku." _

I stared up at the ceiling.

"…._Game over for New Recruit Tororo._"

My eyes widened with horror. "L-Lieutenant…"

"It's a-almost over," Garuru said under his breath. "E-endure for a l-little while l-longer."

He suddenly turned a sharp corner, to a door with a rose-shaped handle. He pushed it hard, making it creak as it gave in.

The dark, creepy colors softened to something more fragile; the room we entered was a light purple, windows open, its translucent curtains floating softly over the floor. On the center of the room was a large canopy bed, its drapes a similar color to the curtains, flower petals sprinkled delicately over the bed sheet.

And…

Oh.

A beautiful young girl lay down on the sheets, her fingers laced together and set gently on her waist. She wore a purple gown, tiny silver patterns weaving on the blouse and the train of her skirt. Her hair was a light pink color, and her skin looked like soft porcelain.

I had never seen her before.

"…Who's…?"

"Th-th-that is the Chief Medic."

I snapped my attention to him, and then to the girl. "…_That's-_?"

"P-precisely," Garuru frowned at this peculiar aspect. "S-strange, a-as th-this f-form is the m-medic's P-P-Pekoponian d-disguise."

"…Pekoponian disguise?"

Garuru waved his hand dismissively. "I-I'll e-explain it t-t-to you l-later. N-now." He turned to me. "W-what f-fairytale is th-this?" He stopped, waiting for an answer. When he noticed that I was still staring, he snapped his fingers together, and I returned my attention to him.

"Hm?"

"W-what fairytale is th-this?"

"…Oh. Sleeping Beauty."

Garuru tilted his head slightly at this.

"A king and a queen have a beautiful baby girl, their only child. They have a grand party but only invite certain people- including a few fairies. One of the fairies, an evil one, doesn't- and is furious because she isn't. When all the fairies are granting gifts to the baby girl, the evil fairy casts a curse on her- on her 16th birthday, she would prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die. One good fairy, however, didn't give the girl a gift and decided to use her own to 'fix' the spell, seeing as she couldn't reverse it; instead of dying, the girl would be placed in eternal slumber, until a prince came along to kiss her, and then wake her up-"

"That sounds unrealistic," Garuru and I said at the same time.

He gave me a warning glance, and I grinned widely at him.

"Sorry."

"…S-so." Garuru looked at Pururu, and then up at me. "…I-I suppose… s-seeing as she _is_ a s-sleeping p-princess…"

"…I have to wake her up," my smile eased. "…Right."

I walked up to the canopy bed to where Pururu was lying so peacefully… wow. She's even prettier up close. I took a deep breath and kneeled, leaning down, my face growing close to hers…

There was a heavy clearing of the throat.

I jumped, and looked over my shoulder to Garuru. The purple frog looked… irritated? He was folding his arms and frowning, "_I'm s-sure you can c-come up w-with another way to w-wake her up, C-Cadet." _

"O-oh. Oh! R-right…!" I blushed heavily. "I-I'm sorry, you're right…"

I paused to think. Hm. The 'spell' reacts to body heat… right? I stood up and looked at my hand, before placing it on Pururu's face.

Her fist soared in the air, and I managed to barely dodge it, covering my nose in defense.

Geez, did Kururu honestly design the game so that if I were to actually kiss one of the girls they would react by _punching _me?

…That's just cold.

"Mm?" Pururu blinked sleepily, and then sat up, rubbing her eyes. She yawned, her hand over her mouth. And then she finally noticed we were there with her. She smiled. "Hi! I…" Her voice drifted off, and I saw her lips wiggle slightly. She turned away, her shoulders quivering. "_Pfft… w-…._wh-what are you _w-wearing?_"

"Oh." I felt my face turn red again. "It's, um." I told her what was going on, sparing the details.

Pururu giggled. "I see. Okay." she gazed idly at her hands. "Oh. I don't remember activating my Pekoponian suit…"

"I think Kururu did that?" I said, taking a gander. Or something. "I don't know, but what I _do _know is that you're our last princess. We have to rescue you in order to finish the level."

"I see." Pururu nodded. "Well, then!" She slid off the bed. "And where are the others?"

"Fighting a dragon outside."

"…A drag-?"

She was interrupted by yet another roar.

"So this would all be over if you just rescued me?" Pururu frowned at a thought. "But… didn't you already rescue me?"

"I think we're going to have to get you outside, Pururu."

Garuru backed away a few steps, turning his head to the door.

"Want to lead us out, Lieutenant?" I asked with a small smile.

"Mm, I think not."

"…Huh?" my smile developed into a weak grin.

Garuru materialized a sword and turned to us. A small smirk played at the corners of his lips. "…Have you wondered why there was no beast in the castle…?"

I started at this, and Pururu watched on quizzically.

"Johnny? What is he-?"

"…Cadet…" he made a chuckle that sent goosebumps up my arms. "…I _am _the beast." We saw his hands clench onto the hilt of the sword. "…and I am _not _letting you take the princess away!" He lunged and struck his sword against me; I fell back, a heart appearing over my head and popping.

"_Ku-ku-ku~ _Two more lives for Johnny Cadet~"

"Garuru, stop this nonsense!" Pururu scowled.

"I-I don't think it's Garuru…" I stammered, feeling my chest.

"Are you alright-?"

"_Don't _touch him," Garuru growled. Pururu ignored him and bent down to see me. She screamed in pain and was pushed out of the way, the Lieutenant having struck his weapon against her.

"_Ku-ku-ku~ _Four more lives for Chief Medic Pururu~"

"I don't think that's Garuru anymore," I said, shakily getting to my feet. I drew my own weapon, and as I did so, I noticed he… twitched.

No… his _image _twitched.

"Ku-ku-ku…" I didn't jump this time, but I still felt the presence of the yellow frog's device behind me. "Mm. Oh dear, ku. It seems his data is corrupted~"

"C-…corrupted?"

"Ku-ku!~ It was only _bound _to happen eventually, ku. It actually once happened to someone I knew~"

I yelped and ducked out of the way, Garuru's blade mere inches away from me. I scrambled to the other side of the room, weapon in front of me.

Kururu hovered over me, observing the scene. "Typically data doesn't just disappear; it gets lost, or it goes into something else, ku. It seems it stuck onto Garuru's data-"

"This is a game," I muttered. "I keep forgetting that." I gave Kururu a weary glance. "So how do I… um… un-corrupt him?"

"Ku. You don't."

Why did I have feeling he would say that? "…So I have to-"

"Correct, ku-ku. You'll have to defeat him in order to finish the level."

I sprinted out of the way, Garuru's sword instead coming into contact with the wall where my head was just at. I shuddered.

"B-but…"

Oh dear.

"Don't you know how to use that?" Pururu asked me, distressed.

"…Um… yes and no…"

I slid out of the way as Garuru attempted to perform several lethal slashes to my abdomen.

What I suck at: hitting things.

What I'm good at: dodging things and running away.

Wee.

"L-Lieutenant…" I stuttered. "…P-please get a hold of yourself."

"I-I am not Garuru anymore," The purple Keronian twitched again. "I am the b-b-b-b-_beast_."

"_Ku-ku-ku~ Game over for Rita Delanogan._"

"One of the girls…" Pururu murmured worriedly, glimpsing at the window.

"And Taruru and Tororo," I added, unhelpfully. "We really need to get out of here…"

"You're not going _anywhere!_"

Garuru sliced across my torso, and I tumbled back, grabbing it with my free hand. A heart rose out of me and again popped.

"_Ku-ku-ku~ _One more life for Johnny Cadet~"

"Oh no." I looked desperately down at my sword. "I _can't _die." I gazed at Pururu. "I need to rescue you."

"Then why don't you use that sword?!"

"I… I _can't!_ W-whoa!" I jumped out of the way again. "I-it's based on _accuracy!_ A-and I _suck _at accuracy!"

"Stop telling yourself that! Believe in yourself for once!"

I groaned and bit my lip as I attempted to swing the sword toward him. He dodged with great fluidity, smirking at my futile try.

I showed an exaggerated hand to demonstrate my flaw, and Pururu shook her head. "Try again!"

"All these optimists…" I shook my head slightly, stopping short as I managed to block Garuru's next attack with my own blade. Up close, I could see his 'data' fidgeting, his eyes glowing with uncontrolled malice.

Uncontrolled.

This was _definitely _not Garuru.

"Hm~" Kururu said, still watching the scene. "It seemed I underestimated your weakness, _ku-ku-ku_."

"I'm _trying!_" I snapped. Anger began to pent up; all my stupid attempts obviously failing, all the stupid insults that these people threw at me, the fact that I was too _stupid _to accomplish anything right… What in the name of _fish _am I _doing _here?! If they didn't want me here, why won't they just-

I used my sword to block another attack; now that I was getting the hang of it, it was getting easier. I took deep breaths. Focus. _Focus. _Like you do everyday, Johnny; just take the stupid insults, and all the people and all that crap, and leave it at that. After all, I'm just a dummy for them to take all their _own _pain on. _Focus. You are_ _not_ _important. _

I kicked the Lieutenant in the chest and struck him when he was distracted. He let out a vicious snarl, a heart floating above him and popping.

"_Ku-ku-ku~ _Two more lives for Lieutenant Garuru~"

"Two more," I repeated weakly. Even then, I can't believe I even _touched _him.

"Oh, you'll pay for this, _weakling._"

"Try knocking him to one life left, ku," Kururu said from somewhere around the ceiling. "It might 'wake him up', you can say."

I said nothing else, nodding and brandishing my weapon instead. I clicked my tongue.

Garuru was watching me intently, twisting the blade with his hand as he slowly walked to the side. He just circled me, a comfortable distance that allowed him to survey me, survey me like a predator would to its defenseless prey.

I could feel my muscles tense up, sweat building up on my palms to my hilt, fingers twitching against it.

Garuru made a sudden movement, startling me and forcing me into an offensive stance. I suppose now that he knew that I was at least capable of making him lose a life, he was going to be slightest bit careful.

Still… he knew as well as I did what I _wasn't _capable of; I'm the weakest member of the entire party. Why would he be wasting time like this?

Just what are you waiting for, Lieutenant?

Waiting, apparently, because in one moment, a second was all that he needed.

My weapon _clink'd _as it fell away from me and onto the floor, skidding under the bed.

Garuru's blade was positioned toward me, the tip mere inches away from my throat. My heart began to pound… slower, and slower, and slower…

"Any last words…" Garuru's lips turned to a sadistic grin, "…Cadet?"

I blinked over his shoulder, and then grinned myself. "Yup. _Duck._"

Garuru stared at me, puzzled, before he was struck by a blow to the head with my sword. He fell with a _thud _to the floor, Pururu standing behind him with my sword in hand.

A heart floated over him and popped.

"Well that was easy," Pururu said, leaning the sword against her shoulder.

"I was distracting him!"

"Ow…" Garuru shook his head and held it with one hand.

"Are you un-corrupted now, Lieutenant?" I asked, squatting down to face him. He simply gazed at me with a disoriented look in his eye.

"…What?"  
"Are you alright, Lieutenant?" Pururu inquired, gently fingering the back of his head where she had hurt him. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hit you so hard."

Garuru tilted his head. "What do you mean by that?" He turned to me. "What happened, Cadet?"

"…Phew… you're alright…" I massaged my head. "I'm never fighting you again, you hear?"

The purple Keronian still looked confused but he nodded anyway. "…Agreed?"

"Ku-ku-ku~ So I was right after all," Kururu mused. "Ku-ku. Don't worry; I acquired enough information that should be able to prevent this program from ever doing this again."

"Wonderful," I said, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice. "Does that mean we're not going to be doing anymore simulations like this?"

"Ku. No more fairytale-based simulations," Kururu said off-handedly. "But I'm still sending you some more; I just thought that this would be the better one to start off with. Don't worry, ku…" He smiled. "I can assure you that they'll only be getting much, _much _more fun… ku-ku~!"

Even Garuru seemed annoyed by this particular aspect. "My idea of 'fun' doesn't consist with this-"

"Don't forget that you're doing all this for the parts of your ship, ku~!" Kururu told him delightedly. He leaned against his chair and bent his arms behind to his neck. "Ku-ku-ku~ you should at _least _be giving me credit for being creative. All these simulations could have been boring, you know."

"Except for all the dying and stuff," I replied blandly.

"Ku-ku~ Just keepin' it real." Kururu shrugged.

Pururu was staring at her hands. "…Wait. Wasn't I-?"

"Just step out the door." I pointed at the exit.

Pururu ran into a bubble.

"Ku. Oh, yes." Kururu smirked devilishly. "I was feeling particularly puckish when I designed the last level of the game-"

"What do you mean, 'puckish'?" I was tired. I just wanted to go home and fall flat against my bed.

"One of you darling Prince Charmings are going to have to kiss her in order to complete this final level."

Garuru and I shot a startled look to Kururu, who seemed like he was absolutely enjoying himself a little too much.

Kururu held up a finger. "One. Whole. Minute."

Garuru and I stared at each other.

…_Well this certainly wasn't awkward at all._

Pururu was blushing heavily and glaring at the yellow frog. "_WHAT?!_"

"Ku!~ You heard me~"

"This isn't funny!" Pururu snapped.

"Ku-ku! It is for me~"

I cleared my throat. "W-well, Lieutenant…?" I lowered my voice slightly, "…Since, um… I'm not of you guys' species… um…" _MAN _this is awkward.

Garuru didn't reply, instead staring blankly out the window.

"…Chief Medic."

Pururu jumped at this, her cheeks turning even redder. "Y-yes?"

"Come down here for a moment, please."

The girl's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she timidly got on her knees, Garuru walking up to her. "U-um…"

"It's just a requirement, medic. Be calm; it will only take a minute."

She nodded, bringing her hands down to her lap. She then closed her eyes, anxious, as Garuru gently held her cheek and neared her mouth.

Before their lips could come to any contact, however, a disastrous roar broke throughout the castle, shaking it violently, tumbling down the furniture and the bed. I wasn't the only one holding my ears against the shrieking sound this time around, either.

"W-what's happening?!" Pururu screamed.

"The dragon!" I yelled back.

We heard something enormous fall to the ground with a sickening _thump_, the roar graduating into a weak, sniveling whine, eventually dying out.

A light flashed over Pururu, and a crown floated over her head.

"_Ku-ku-ku~ _Level five completed"

Pururu was wearing something much more elegant than the clothes she was in prior, instead fashioning a silver tiara with her own insignia at the center.

"….._Zut_," Kururu muttered, putting down his camcorder.

"Wait," I looked at Pururu quizzically, "So- we either had to _actually _kiss Pururu, or-"

"-kill the dragon," Garuru looked insanely irritated, but he somehow managed to keep that frighteningly chill voice as he continued to speak. "_You couldn't have informed us of that sooner?_"

"Ku-ku-ku~! I told you, I was feeling _puckish,_" Kururu defended himself. "Besides~ I wanted to mentally scar Giroro, but apparently that wasn't going to being happening today."

Garuru face palmed, sighing somewhat loudly.

And Pururu looked somewhat disappointed. "I see." She looked up at Kururu. "But wait… if they rescued me, then-"

"Ku-ku-ku~! Congratulations," Kururu continued gleefully. "You finished the game! How do you feel?"

"Exhausted."

"Immensely annoyed."

"Ahaha… I just want to go home…"

"Ku-ku! Prepare for exposure to the real world! Clicky!"

The three of us were consumed by a yet another bright, white light.

* * *

I rubbed my eyes, barely managing to adjust the sight around me. "Ugh… not again…" I blinked at five boxes that were strewn carelessly around me, and I picked one up to look inside it. A metal part. Huh. Cool.

"Pururu!" I heard Ruby laugh joyfully. From the sound of the light purple frog's _squeak, _I could safely assume that she was being hugged to death that very moment.

"WOW. Being dead is weird!" Taruru piped up, examining his skin. "Too bad though! Those costumes were really cool!"

"Speak for _yourself!_" Tororo complained. "You didn't have to wear that stupid _hood!_"

Or that stupid ridiculous prince outfit. Garuru was thinking the same thing, I was sure.

"At last," Zoruru said, bringing his blade to the light. "My arm is complete again…"

I stared at him in bewilderment and ultimately backed away.

…No comment on that.

Stella grinned at him and rolled her eyes gently. "You're so weird, Zoruru."

"I told you not to die on me!" Rita said playfully, giving him a little noogie. Taruru laughed.

"What happened?" Kitty asked Tororo.

"The dragon stepped on me."

"Oh, you poor thing!" Kitty giggled, hugging him.

"Does anyone want to go home?" I said, speaking up at last. "I'm sorry, but I'm tired, and…"

"That's understandable," Zoruru said with a firm nod. "And agreeable."

Ruby was writing something on a piece of paper.

I gazed at her perplexedly and walked up to her. "What's-?" She handed it to me, and I accepted it. "What-?"

"That's my number," she explained casually, putting her hands in her pocket. "Call me and tell me what happened! I was stuck until the last level, don't forget."

"Oh, good idea!" Rita patted her pockets, but then frowned when it seemed she couldn't find anything. "Hey, Kitty? Do you have a piece of paper and a pen?"

"Uh, just type it down on my phone," I said, pulling it out of my pocket. I paused at a particular thought as I handed it to her. "…Hey, Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"…You said you had your iPod with you?"

Ruby nodded. "Yup. It was a lifesaver, too!"

"…_How?_" I didn't have my phone with me; all the weapons that the platoon had were exchanged for ones that would fit their character.

She shrugged. "I'unno."

Oh well. I guess it would be best not to question it; Kururu might just want to redo the whole game just because of that one minor screwup. He sure seemed irritated enough when Tororo pointed out that flaw in his design…

"There." Rita pressed a button and gave me back my phone. She looked up at the sky. "It's getting late now."

"So we'll see you soon, right?" Kitty walked up to me for a hug, and I immediately backed out of the way, laughing nervously.

"Yeah, of course," I smiled weakly.

"Who's taking the box?" Stella asked, pointing at what Kururu dubbed the 'SimCube'.

"I will," Tororo picked it up. "I've already been given the instructions for it and everything."

"Now the question is where to hide it…" Rita mused.

"If you want, I could take the rest of the boxes," Stella offered. "I can put them in my garage and take them all back here when we can actually start building."

Garuru nodded. "Good idea. I appreciate it, thank you."

"I'll see you later, okay?" Stella ruffled my hair. I gently batted her hand away and smoothed it back down.

"Alright."

* * *

"Hey, Lieutenant?"

"Mm?"

I dried my face with my towel and slung the cloth over my shoulder. "Remember that rubber ducky from before? I can't find it… I thought it was right here-"

"The dog might have taken it," Garuru replied, a bit too quickly.

"Um. Okay." That was certainly plausible; she _does _often walk into my room and taken random things that are lying on the ground…

"What continues to bother me is that wolf," Garuru muttered, sitting down on his bed.

"Like we said before, Lieutenant; I think it was killed by the others-"

"No." Garuru gazed up at me. "It left. And it just disappeared."

I shrugged. "Well, maybe that was supposed to happen. Either way, we won the game; don't think too much into it."

Garuru nodded vaguely.

"I would typically ask for a story," I said thoughtfully, "But I think we had our own fair share of an adventure today, don't you agree?"

Garuru's lips twitched slightly. "Yes, I do."

* * *

**FINALLY. DONE. DONEDONEDONE. **

**Fairytale arch COMPLETED. Phew. I'm tired XD;**

**Does anyone want to suggest any games that I could use for Kururu's 'simulations'? I have some in mind, but I would still appreciate some suggestions.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	22. Never Again

**DAY TWENTY, WORD TWENTY: NEVER AGAIN**

* * *

I hate them.

I HATE THEM.

Those stupid, disgusting, irritating, horrible…

….SUGARY ADDICTING UNHEALTHY SUBSTANCE ALSO KNOWN AS CAPTAIN CRUNCH.

Curse that Captain Crunch. _CURSE IT. _

"I can't stop eating them," I whined, munching on the cereal.

Garuru gave me a strange look. "And why not?"

"They're just… have one."

I held the bowl out to them, absolutely knowing he probably wasn't going to take it.

To my surprise, he actually reached out and took a small handful. He put one in his mouth.

"I still don't see why you can't stop," Garuru said after swallowing it. "It tastes interesting, but it's definitely not compulsory…"

"You're just an alien," I muttered. "You would never understand. _Never._"

Garuru finished his cereal and took a little more. "What was it that that girl wanted?"

"Mm? Ruby?" I blinked at him after pushing the bowl away from me. I'm _not _gaining twenty pounds today, no sir. "The one with Pururu?"

Garuru nodded, taking a little more.

"She just wanted to talk about the game yesterday," I explained.

Garuru gave me a glower. "Never speak of that incident again. Never. Again."

"I don't know Kururu," I told him, "But I'm guessing those simulations of his are just going to get worse."

The purple Keronian winced, and then dumped the cereal that he had in his hand back in the bowl, as if the very mention of doing any more of those little 'games' suddenly made him lose his appetite.

"I think I'll call Rita and Kitty next, just so that they could have my number," I mused. I paused. "Hey, wait… Lieutenant?"

"Mm?"

"You know, Pururu gave something to me." I slid off the bed. "She gave to me… days ago, actually…"

"Did she?" Garuru perked a brow. "And why have you not given it to me?"

"I, uh… hehe, I kind of forgot…"

Garuru sighed. "As to be expected. Let me see it then."

"It's um…" I looked around myself, blinking uncertainly. "…I… don't… um…" I hastily checked under my bed, then ran to my closet to look inside my backpack. "…Ummm…"

"….You lost it, didn't you?"

"No!…. Well, um… maybe… kind of… yeah, I did." I blushed heavily. "I-I'm sorry."

"What was it?" Garuru asked, tilting his head.

"I think it was a letter," I said, looking up at my ceiling. "She wouldn't tell me what it was though."

Garuru seemed mildly confused. "A letter?"

"Well, I think so… it was in an envelope."

"…If it was a letter, I don't see why she wouldn't tell me what she wanted personally…" Garuru thought heavily on this.

"I think I'll call Rita and Kitty now-" My phone rang. "Huh. Coincidence."

"The girls?"

"Um, no. It's Ruby." I picked it up. "Y'ello?"

"Hey, Johnny! I'm planning on having Rita, Kitty, and Stella over! They're bringing the frog aliens with them. Do you and Garuru want to come along? We're planning on watching a movie."

"A movie?" I made a weak chuckle. "It's not like… a romance movie… is it?"

"I'm sure you'll like it," she assured me. "So what do you say?"

"Um. Let me ask." I turned to Garuru. "Hey, Lieutenant. Wanna go and watch a movie with the platoon?"

"Watch a movie?"

"…Please tell me you know what a movie is."

"I'm well aware of what a movie is. I just want to know why."

"…To have fun…?" Before I even bothered waiting for a response, I replied to Ruby, "Sure. We'll be there. What time?"

"In a few hours… how about 4'Oclock?"

"Sounds like a plan. See you later." I turned it off.

Garuru gave me a look.

"C'mon, Lieutenant," I said with a small grin. "How bad is it for you to hang out with your teammates and loosen up once in a while?" I held up a finger. "Wait. We all know you're going to have to build your ship and get ready to go home, but think about it; right now, you don't have much of a choice. And your friends-"

"-teammates," Garuru interrupted, folding his arms.

"…_teammates_ really want to just relax and watch this movie. C'mon; you'll have fun."

Garuru tightened his mouth, as if he was truly unsure of what to say.

"…You won't be stuck here alone, you know…"

* * *

"Johnny! Garuru!" Ruby said sweetly, opening the door to let us in. "Hi! Come in!" She moved out of the way to grant us entry, and she locked the door with a tiny _click. _

"Where is everybody?" I asked.

"In the living room," she replied, quickly walking in front of us. "Here; follow me."

We did so, eventually coming into a room with Kitty, Rita, Tororo and Taruru, the two girls on the couch, and the two frogs on the floor.

"Hi, Johnny!" Rita and Kitty chimed, each raising an individual hand.

"Oh. Hi!" I waved back.

"Hiya Lieutenant~" Taruru saluted from his seated position, and Tororo made an off-handed wave, his attention on his laptop.

"O-oh, hello, Lieutenant!" Pururu said from behind us, saluting Garuru.

He returned the greeting. "Good evening, Chief Medic." He put his arm down. "I was aware that you wanted to tell me something?"  
"…Eh?" Pururu stared at him, her mouth turned up slightly in a broken smile.

"Cadet informed me that you had given him an envelope to give to me. What was inside it, may I ask?"  
Pururu turned to me, a somewhat dark, evil aura emanating around her, her eyes going completely white with what I assumed was… _anger? _Wait, why would she be _m-_

Oh.

_…Ohhh._

…I wasn't supposed to tell the Lieutenant that it was from Pururu, huh?

I face palmed. _Why_ was I born such an idiot?

"Well, Chief Medic?" Garuru folded his arms.

"U-um… it w-wasn't important," Pururu stammered, pressing her index fingers together.

"It doesn't seem it isn't," the Lieutenant pointed out. He placed a hand on a hip. "If you had left a message in Cadet's care that you wouldn't tell him about-"

"Hi guys!" Stella cried out, bursting into the room with her hands in the air. She smiled cheerily, waving.

"Oh, hey, Stella," I said with a small smile. "'Was wondering when you were going to get here."

"Cool! Is everyone here?" Ruby paused to count every one of us. She beamed. "We are! Good! Um, so… popcorn! I'm going to go make some popcorn." She disappeared to her kitchen, the sounds of plates clattering inside.

"S-sit down, Lieutenant," Pururu insisted, gently grabbing Garuru's wrist and pulling him down with Tororo and Taruru. "L-let's watch the movie. Th-that's what we came here for, right?"

Garuru raised an eye ridge. "You're acting very curious, Chief Medic."

She provided a weak giggle, and then stared hard at the ground, her cheeks burning deeply.

Ugh. Poor Pururu. I guess she preferred for him to read the letter before she talked to the Lieutenant.

_Why_ am I such an idiot?

"I'm going to go help Ruby," I muttered to no one in particular, helping myself to the girl's kitchen.

Ruby was gently jumping on her heels, humming a song that I vaguely recognized, while she watched the microwave intently. I could hear the popping sounds inside, and smell the buttery scent of the popcorn.

She must have sensed me despite the fact she was currently listening to her music, because she gazed over her shoulder at me and pulled one of the earphones off of her ear.

"Hi!" she said brightly. "You need something?"

"O-oh, no," I waved my hands slightly. "I just wanted to see if there was anything I could help you out with."

Ruby shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

"I'm helping out anyway."

She giggled. "Alright." She pointed at one of the cabinets. "Do you mind getting that for me? It's too high…"

I gave her a bored look, my shoulders slumping slightly at her definition of 'help'. I rose an eyebrow. "Really."

"…Right," Ruby laughed again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I keep forgetting you're shorter than me. You know," she gestured toward herself. "I'm pretty small myself. It's not everyday I actually find someone smaller than I am."

"I guess… looking at you, you do look pretty tiny," I nodded, observing her. "But your clothes make you seem a little bigger, so…"

"Maybe you should find something that makes you seem bigger too," Ruby suggested.

"Like high heels."

"That's the spirit!"

I was grinning. "Oh, boy. I don't think so."

The microwave darkened, and it let out a series of _beep_s, indicating to all that the popcorn was finished.

"You get it out then," Ruby said, moving her hand toward it. "I'll find the bowls."

From the corner of my eye, I could see her climbing on the countertops. I bit my lower lip watching her. "U-um… maybe that's not a good idea-?"

"I'm fine," Ruby said, grabbing hold of the cabinets above her. "Let's see… this bowl… this bowl…"

"Y-you're going to fall…"

"I'm fine!"

"…Usually in books and movies, when a character says 'I'm fine' during the action of a dangerous activity-"

"W-whoa!" Ruby faltered slightly, and I yelped, my arms out.

"I-I got you!"

She gripped onto the cabinets, shuddering at her near-death experience. She smiled nervously down to me. "S-see? What did I tell you…? I'm fine." She licked her lips anxiously. "S-sorry for worrying you."

"J-just be careful," I said, relieved she didn't hurt herself. "Get what you need and just like… I don't know. I'll help you get down."

"…I've done this before…."

"Yeah, so have I. Come on."

Ruby sat down on the counter and I gently helped her set her feet on her floor.

"There," I took one of the bowls from her. "Now let's go get that popcorn, okay?" I opened the microwave and gingerly held the steaming popcorn bag with my finger and thumb, dropping it into one of the bowls when the steam burned me.

"You alright?" Ruby asked me.

"I'm fine," I laughed weakly. "I have fragile skin." Too fragile. "So, um. What movie are we watching?"

Ruby smirked at me. "Horror Movie. The most cliché horror movie around."

I blinked at her. "…Horror movie?"

"Yup."

"…Uh…"

"You aren't scared of horror movies, are you Johnny?"

"M-m-me? H-horror movies…? N-n-no…"

"Mmhm." Ruby smiled at me. "If you want, we could change the movie…"

"N-n-n-no…" I stuttered. "I-it's fine. I-I'll be okay."

"You sure?"

"P-p-positive."

* * *

"No one bothered to greet me."

"_Eep!_" I tripped over my feet- again- and landed ungracefully on my rear. I scrambled away on the floor, my heart beating.

Zoruru was not amused. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing? Doing- d-doing- doing what?"

"That." His voice gave me the indication that he was frowning despite the fact I couldn't see his mouth… if he had one, that is. "You're acting all jumpy on me. Something the matter?"

I shook my head, embarrassed. I then remembered what he said before, and I said, rather quickly, "H-hi, Zoruru."

His suspicious look softened somewhat. "Um. Hi."

"Wanna watch the movie?"

"…Sure."

"It's a horror movie…"

"Mm. Interesting."

I smiled shyly at him. "You like horror movies?"

Zoruru shrugged a shoulder.

"I'm going to go, um. Sit with-"

"I understand. Go."  
_  
Phew. _Got myself out of that one. Admittedly, Zoruru still scares me…Wait.

Um…

"Can I have a chair?" I asked Ruby, blushing slightly.

Ruby gave me an odd look. "How come?"

"We have enough room on the sofa," Stella assured me. "Come and sit down!"

Is it normal to admit I'm a little afraid of touching the opposite gender? Go ahead and laugh. While I'm totally fine with spending time with them, I just… yeah. Shutting up now.

"U-um…" I stiffly sat down on the space provided between Stella and Ruby, my wrists at my knees. The worst thing about me is that I can't seem to hide whatever's wrong with me. I'm really bad at hiding what I'm really feeling.

"You okay?" Kitty asked me. "You look tense."

"I-I'm fine," I said with a nervous grin. "Why don't you put on the movie?"

* * *

I had never seen the frogs so engaged before…

Except Garuru. He didn't bat an eyelash at any of the parts with the gory killings.

But the other frogs were either cringing, or covering their eyes, or laughing (this was Taruru).

Tororo would yelp and occasionally cover his face behind his knees, peeking fearfully out only to see that the girl indeed was murdered before his very glasses. He let out some… really cute yelps when something sudden came on the screen, and the girls would giggle, with him glaring at them with a great amount of annoyance.

Zoruru was similar to Garuru in the fact that he didn't really seem to care much about the movie, though, unlike Garuru, he would sometimes shake his head and say '_idiot' _when someone was brutally slaughtered. Apparently in his eyes, there was something that could have prevented someone's own doom.

Taruru looked like he was enjoying himself. He would ask a question to Rita concerning something he didn't understand, and she would provide him with an answer before he became intensely engaged in the movie again.

Pururu seemed the most afraid of the movie (besides Tororo; the poor guy). She closed her eyes and sometimes got… a little close to the Lieutenant, seeing as he was the nearest to her. She would hug his arm and he would mumble something like, '_it's not real, Chief Medic'_ but wouldn't rudely pry her off him. If anything, he seemed mildly embarrassed that she was grabbing him. Hm. He probably doesn't like being touched as much as I do.

Ruby would make random comments on the movie's special effects, Stella would jump here and there, Rita would mutter something that made no sense in context, and Kitty was very interested in the outcome of the movie.

Me?

…

I was hiding behind the couch.

"What are you doing there-?"

"_Don't question me._"

"You're not afraid of horror movies, are you, Johnny?" Rita grinned, peering over the couch.

I was huddled against it, hugging my knees. "I d-don't _like _them, per-say…"

"He's afraid of horror movies," Stella confirmed. She peeked over the sofa to look at me too and flicked a piece of popcorn at me. "Get over here! I'll hug you and cover your eyes when a scary part comes."

"How old do I look like?"

"Well-"

"Don't answer that."

"The effects are fake, Johnny," Ruby assured me. "All of it is fake. It's really not that bad."

"The movie's over," Taruru said cheerfully, sitting up. "I knew it was the boyfriend. It's _always _the boyfriend."

Tororo was shaking a little, uneasily putting a piece of popcorn in his mouth.

Taruru smiled mischievously as he slowly crawled up to him. "BOO!"

The tadpole screamed and ran to Kitty, clinging on to one of her legs.

Taruru laughed.

"Taruru!" Rita cried out, exasperated. "Why'd you do that for?"

The light blue frog was laughing too hard; he held up a finger as he struggled to breathe.

"If you pass out you'll have to give _yourself _CPR!"

"O-oh." Pururu blushed and released Garuru. "S-sorry. I didn't mean-"

"It's fine," Garuru said.

"Hey, Johnny?" Taruru said, suddenly talking as normally again. Really, it would've sounded weird if it _didn't _come out of a light blue space frog.

"Yeah?" I asked, standing up and moving toward the front of the sofa. "What's up?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No, I don't. Why do you ask?"

Taruru gave me a funny look. "Why not?"

"No, the question is, '_why?_'" I waved my hands toward myself. "I'm short. Most girls don't want a short boyfriend."

"You could if you try," Taruru said persistently. "Check this out. This guy-" he directed our attention (I say 'our' because the girls suddenly became interested in the matters of my love life… no clue why) to Tororo. "-has a girlfriend."

"I- _what?_" Tororo turned to the light blue frog with horror. "_Who?_"

"I've been noticing all those cutesy flirty emails you've been sending Chiroro," Taruru said with a teasing grin.

"They're not flirty!" Tororo snapped, his cheeks burning into a crimson red color.

"So you admit you send emails to Chiroro," Kitty said, raising up her eyebrows.

"Well… sometimes," Tororo said flatly. "B-but they're not like that!"

"Then what _are _they like?" Rita laughed.

I swear, if Tororo's face got any redder…

"N-… _NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!_" Tororo yelled sharply, waving a hand in the air. He immediately typed something in his laptop, pressed '_SEND', _and then logged out.

"Aw! I wanted to read them…" Rita whined.

"Which is why I logged out," Tororo told her unnecessarily.

"Chiroro, your lips, are like a rose…" Taruru suddenly recited. "And your cheeks, are like the most delicious, of potato chips…"

The girls exploded in a spurt of giggles.

"_I DON'T SEND THINGS LIKE THAT!" _Tororo snapped, suddenly lunging toward Taruru.

Garuru watched on amusedly as the two boys rolled around, occasionally stepping out of the way when they moved toward him.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Garuru?" Kitty inquired.

I blinked at this. The Lieutenant having a girlfriend…?

That's a scary thought.

"No," Garuru responded dryly. "I don't."

Kitty tilted her head slightly. "Why not?"

"I recognize there are more important matters than engaging in romantic affairs," he paused. "…Unless Headquarters sends me a marriage request, that is, I refuse to forgo a romantic relationship."

"Marriage request?" Ruby echoed. She considered this, and glanced at Pururu, as if she was suddenly remembering something. "What do you mean by that?"

"Occasionally HQ would look at the profiles of the officers in the Keronian Military," the Lieutenant said in explanation. "They look at career, position, personality, pros, cons, and the like. When they feel that they have found a suitable match, they send marriage request letters to the two officers. The two officers will be arranged to meet- mostly for the first time- and then they can discuss whether or not they would like to be married." He shrugged indifferently. "I haven't received one yet, but if Headquarters indeed felt that they have found my suitable match, then I will agree to the arrangement."

"The Lieutenant's too perfect," Zoruru said dryly. "I'm not surprised they haven't found anyone for him yet; I can't _imagine _the poor soul who will have to put up with him." He blushed suddenly as Garuru turned to him. "I apologize. I didn't think that sounded rude."

Garuru was smirking at this, somewhat entertained by the Lance Corporal's snide response. "It's fine."

"…How old are you?" Rita asked randomly.

"I'm not sure how to convert Keronian years into Pekoponian years," Garuru replied, his smile disappearing as quickly as it had come. He folded his arms. "So I'm not sure how accurate my answer would be."

"But if you had to guess?"

Garuru considered this. "I believe… I'm not sure. Honestly."

"The Lieutenant likes to be precise," I said to Rita. "It bugs him when he isn't."

Garuru said nothing to this.

"Have you guys ever received marriage requests?" Kitty asked the rest of the platoon.

Tororo snorted, Garuru's talk having brought him out of his angry fight with Taruru. "Are you kidding me? I'm just a kid."

"So I'm guessing Taruru never got one either," Rita said caustically, giving the light blue frog a look.

Taruru was rubbing his forehead (Tororo had punched him when he was caught unawares) and smiling mischievously. "I got one; I don't know what you're talking about."

"…What." Rita frowned at this, furrowing her eyebrows. "Wait. Aren't you about as old as Tororo, maybe a little older?"

"Legally, I'm considered an adult," Taruru poked out his lips and reached behind his neck. "So I'm qualified to get some marriage requests. And I did; I got one." He shook his head. "Didn't like her very much, though, and she didn't like me, so we turned it down."

Garuru suddenly looked at him and gave him a… perplexed expression, but Taruru didn't notice, instead leaning back against the couch near Rita.

"And you, Pururu?" Ruby inquired.

Pururu made a stuffy laugh. "I don't want to get too into it."

"I never got one," Zoruru said flatly, _hmphing _as he folded his arms. "HQ often seems to forget to even _pay _me. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even consider pairing me up with someone."

Stella pat his head sympathetically.

"Don't touch me."

She reached down and hugged him anyway.

Apparently responding one thing with Stella is guaranteed to make her do the opposite.

….She's such a troll.

"So when are we going to have to fix the ship?" Ruby asked Tororo, who had gone back to his laptop.

"We haven't gotten nearly enough parts for it," Tororo muttered, typing something in his keyboard. "Kururu's levels for each game is going to be about 1-5, depending on the size of the part. The most important part is typically the reward for the last level, hence the difficulty of it." He huffed. "He said the games are going to be getting better, which, in our translation, means that we're going to have to endure stupider and more ridiculous games."

"Marvelous," Zoruru growled.

"They're also going to range," Tororo said, reading something on his screen. "Whereas the first game focused on Johnny, some of them are going to focus on one of the girls to keep it fresh."

"What other games are there going to be?" Stella asked.

"I asked him that."

"And?" Rita questioned.

"He said 'I can't tell you; that would be cheating'."

Yup. I hate him already.

"More surprises for us, then!" Taruru chirped.

Tororo glared at him sourly.

"I hope we don't have a horror movie game, though," Taruru thought out loud. He glanced at me, Tororo, and Pururu. "'Cuz then we'd be doomed."

"Ha, ha… says one of the only guys that actually managed to get killed in the _last _game," I said, picking up the stray pieces of popcorn the two younger Keronians had dropped in their little fight. "…Um. N-… not saying I don't… _agree _with you…"

"I think it would be fun," Kitty piped up. Tororo gave her an irritated gaze. "What? I really think so!"

"Why do I have a feeling we _are _going to have to play a game like that?" I said with a sad little sigh.

"Well, at least the girls are okay with it," Taruru pointed out. "I think losing one of you would be fine."

"Gee, thanks for your support."

"No problemo, Johnny boy."

"Do you guys want to stay and play a game?" Ruby asked, pulling out a game board out from somewhere.

"Um…?" I looked at Garuru.

"I would like to go back to Cadet's home," Garuru said firmly.

"Aw, okay…" Stella made a little face. She reached out to hug me, and I side-stepped out of the way. She looked at me, confused.

"I think I should go, too…" I said slowly. "Y-yeah." I cleared my throat. "I should, um. Go."

"Do you want some water?" Ruby went into her kitchen before I said anything, coming out with a water bottle. "Here. For Garuru. Unless you want some too-?"

"No, I'm fine," I said dismissively.

"You sure? It's pretty dry-"

"Welcome to Arizona." I tipped my hat. At least… if I had a hat. Hm. That must've looked kind of strange.

"Come again soon, okay?" Ruby showed me to the door.

"Invite me more often and I will, alright?"

"Sure. See you on… Friday?"

I nodded. "See you."

* * *

"I noticed something."

"Hm?" I looked down at the Lieutenant. "What did you notice?"

Garuru made a small frown. "…You're quite lonely, aren't you."

It sounded more like a statement than a question. I blushed slightly at this. "W-what…?"

"I've noticed that you… spend most of your time at home, with me. I don't go out of your room often, but when I do, it's… pretty empty."

My face deepened in color as I scratched the back of my neck. "U-um… my mom and dad work a lot… my sister has a lot of friends… and my brother mostly locks himself in his room with his game. We only all hang out together at dinner, or when everyone decides they want to do a family night. And, um… that's not very often."

"And your companions…?"

I bit my lip shamefully. "I don't have a lot of them."

Garuru glanced at me. "And why not?"

"…Um…" I honestly didn't know how to word it. I finally just decided to say it bluntly, knowing that Garuru would understand. "I have trust issues."

"Trust issues?" the purple frog looked over his shoulder. "You were doing just fine with the girls." He gazed at me, a subtle expression of puzzlement. "You don't seem distrustful to others."

"Well, yeah…" I sighed. "I'm very social. I like to talk a lot. But, um… I'm careful… about my friendships. I don't… get out that often, and the people I do hang out with aren't… very long." I laughed weakly. "Not only that, but I'm a little afraid of them." I paused, shuddering at a memory. "…When I was a sophomore in high school, I… honestly didn't know a lot about…" I waved my hands wildly. "…stuff. These kids I hung out with… they were, um… they were my friends, and they were… 'experienced'. They joked about it all the time, but they couldn't will themselves to actually kid around me like that. They gave each other all these nicknames… related to that 'stuff'. But, um… my inexperience earned me the nickname 'Innocence'."  
Garuru started slightly at this. He seemed rather confused when I began talking, but when I had said that last word, a look of realization crossed his features. He looked down. "…I see."

"Then they decided that they needed to 'educate' me," I said, unable to control my voice from sounding bitter. "Just the day before they were hugging me and telling me they loved my 'innocence' because it was so rare that they found anyone like that. The next day, all the respect they claimed to have doubled to nothing." I shrugged. "They would pin me to the table, and I would laugh along, thinking they were joking. Idiot I was, they weren't. They meant every word. Eventually I would go to a different table to eat at lunch, because they wouldn't stop bugging me. It was a joke- _I _was a joke. It was _so_ funny." I sighed, shaking. "I don't know. One day, one of them finally grabbed me and wouldn't let me go. That scared me so bad, that, um…" I shook my head. "Nothing. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Point is, I've just… I'm friendly, and I'm very social. But I don't think I'll ever get that close to anybody again."

"…I see." Garuru gazed behind his shoulder again. "It seems that you do a good job hiding it, however. I honestly didn't notice."

"I don't like touching the opposite gender," I said with a weak laugh. "Shaking hands and all that is fine and dandy, but, like… hugs, _physically_ getting close to them…" I shuddered again. "Can't. Won't do it. I feel rude for not wanting to hug the girls, because they're so nice, but I'm afraid if I get close to anybody like that, it gives them permission for them to touch me more, and… I just don't want to go through that route again." I stopped briefly, before continuing, "I like restricting myself to limited friendships, which is why I prefer staying at home more."

"You seemed so insistent on sharing experiences with me," Garuru noted.

I grinned wryly. "I said it before, and I'll say it again: I didn't want you shooting at me in your sleep."

"…Point taken." Garuru rested his hand on his chin. "Pekoponians are very social creatures."

"Right," I agreed. "They've been known to go insane if they were left by themselves for too long. Unfortunately, I'm the same way. Doesn't help the fact that I also personally love people. I get close anyway, knowing that I'll most likely hurt myself in the long run."

"…Hm," was all Garuru said.

"So! I think I've talked enough about myself for today," I said, changing the subject. "What about you? It better be long, and funny."

"…Familiarity, Cadet."

"Pfft. I haven't heard you say that in a while- s-sorry. Sorry."

Garuru shook his head, stopping short from giving me a testy glance. "It's fine."

* * *

"We have received a message from Dobaba Industries," Garuru said, calling the attention to all his Platoon members. "The head of the company had a very urgent request for us."

"Oh, this should be big," Pururu murmured. "What does he want?"

"We'll perform it to the best of our ability," Zoruru said, nodding as he folded his arms.

"…Dobaba?" Taruru blinked at his superior. "That's…"

"What's the objective?" Tororo asked, tilting his head. "We aren't going to have to _work _there, right?"

"Actually, we're serving as security guards… bodyguards, more like."

"Bodyguards?" Pururu repeated.

"Yes," Garuru turned something on to his screen, where something resembling a letter appeared to the Platoon. "Dobaba has received a threatening message to his daughters- apparently a potential ransom attempt. We've been assigned to protect her and watch over her until authorities can catch the predator."

"Karara and Chiroro," Taruru said softly.

"You know them, rookie?" Zoruru asked, turning to the light blue frog.

"Yeah, I played with them when I was… younger," Taruru grinned. "I was actually really good friends with Karara. Hm." His face softened somewhat. "I haven't seen her since I joined this platoon."

"That's right," Pururu giggled. "Keroro used to tell me how you would come down and wreck havoc on their military base."

"It was so much fun," Taruru brightened at the memory. "I wonder if she'll even recognize me! Last time she saw me, I was a tadpole you know. I looked a lot like him." He pointed at Tororo. "Except blue and not as fat."

"HEY!"

"I don't see why we have to protect them," Zoruru said after a particular thought. "Why can't _we _catch the predators instead?"

"Dobaba wanted the best to protect his daughters," Pururu smiled sweetly to the Lieutenant. "Isn't that right?"

"…I suppose…"

"I'm glad we get to watch over them~!" Taruru said cheerfully. "I get to see Karara again~!"

"We're there to watch over them, not play with them," Zoruru reminded him.

"Yeah, I know." The Private didn't seemed to discouraged by his statement, though.

* * *

A servant welcomed them inside the enormous mansion, greeting them and showing them to the two hyperactive tadpoles that were planning some sort of strategy to win Keroro's heart.

Or, at least that was what the Lieutenant got most of it.

"Girls," the butler said, straightening and clearing his throat to get their attention. "This is the Garuru Platoon."

"Hi," Chiroro said with a small wave.

Karara was too into her planning sheet to pay attention. She waved off-handedly. "Hi."

Chiroro peered at one of them closely. "…Taruru?"

Karara blinked, and rose her head to her sister. "Huh?"

"That's Taruru," Chiroro pointed. "Wow. You've gotten… _big_."

Karara turned to the light blue frog, who grinned. "Hiya, Karara~"

"Oh. Um." The girl didn't know what to say. "Hi, I guess."

Taruru's smile weakened with disappointment. "Don't really recognize me?"

"No, it's just… weird," Karara gave him a funny look. "Wait. _You're _in the platoon that daddy spoke so highly of?"

"Yessiree," Taruru saluted her. "Ready to serve you."

"….How the heck did you get in there?"

Tororo laughed, Taruru's smile disappearing all the way. "I wonder about that everyday."

"Whoa, you're like… _our _age," Chiroro hopped to her feet and examined the New Recruit, perhaps a bit too closely.

"W-what are you _doing?_" Tororo snapped, blushing at her attention.

"Wow! You're a kid!" the girl was absolutely baffled. "What happened?"

"I hacked into the Keronian Military Data bases," Tororo replied with a hint of pride. "I'm actually serving punishment for that."

"_Whoa! _No way!"

"I suppose we should introduce ourselves," Garuru intercepted, clearing his throat quietly. "I am Lieutenant Garuru. I am the leader of the Garuru Platoon. This is Lance Corporal Zoruru, Chief Medic Pururu, and New Recruit Tororo. And I suppose it would be redundant to introduce First Private Taruru."

"Tororo. I like your name!" Chiroro beamed.

"…Thanks…. and… what's your name?" Tororo asked slowly.

"Chiroro," the girl chirped. "I'm Karara's twin sister."

"You're twins? You look nothing alike."

"We get that a lot," Chiroro said with a resigned sigh.

"So how are we going to do this, Lieutenant?" Taruru asked with his signature grin, reviving whatever sense of cheerfulness he had lost during his conversation with Karara.

"We should split up," Garuru said with a nod. "Yes. We'll divide amongst ourselves; two members to look after the girls' room, and the rest of us in different areas that could prove to be useful in means of surveillance. Zoruru and Pururu, you two keep watch over the girls' room. I'll look out in the entrance, Taruru in the hallway, and Tororo in the main room. We all have our communicators?"

Tororo asked excitedly, "You mean the-?"

"Don't mention the name," Garuru said with a strict look. He turned. "Assume your positions."

Four 'Yes sir!'s sounded in reply.

* * *

Several hours passed by. Of course it would take time- perhaps even days, weeks- before the kidnapper would strike, but even the Lieutenant was admittedly beginning to get bored.

Garuru pressed his communicator. "Speaking to all Garuru Platoon members. Reply if there is any suspicious activity."

"…We know, Lieutenant… you, like… sent the same message two minutes ago."

"You're bored, aren't you, Garuru?"

Garuru smirked a little and turned the communicator off, when he suddenly heard feet patter around his own area. He kneeled down and materialized a sniper rifle, his attention to where the noise of the footsteps were.

There was a quiet gasp. "Wh-who's there? Who are you?"

Garuru blinked. The Keronian that entered was yellow, with big green eyes. She had retained most of her youthful vigor despite being older, Garuru noted, because he knew that he was directing a deadly arsenal at the mother of the girls he was assigned to watch over.

"Forgive me," the Lieutenant said, dissipating the gun. "I assumed you were the kidnapper."

"…Oh," the mother said in realization. "You're the bodyguards. Um… Garoro, correct?"

"…Garuru."

"Right." The mother laughed, a sweet twinkling sound. "I'm sorry. I've been so dreadfully busy and all, I haven't had the pleasure of looking over your profile much. So! I see you've made quite a name for yourself, Garuru. What is your rank?"

"Lieutenant."

"Mm," she nodded.

Garuru didn't know why, but he suddenly felt very uncomfortable under the woman's gaze. He found himself taking a few steps back when she decided to near him.

"I suppose a very… _handsome_ young, successful Keronian has many offers from the ladies?"

He backed away even further.

"No, ma'am. I'm single, and I choose to remain so until I am given a request from headquarters." He didn't know why he felt he needed to address that issue. The fact that this woman was getting closer to him didn't help either.

At the word 'single', the mother's eyes sparkled. "How fascinating~"

"You know…" his back met with a wall. "It's an honor meeting you, ma'am, but I need to return to my assignment-"

"Oh, your assignment can wait for a few more seconds~" she placed her hands against the wall, preventing rational escape.

Garuru slipped under them and immediately backed away. "I believe I just received a message from your husband. Good evening, ma'am." He immediately turned and walked away, his footsteps increasing in speed as he heard the mother laugh teasingly.

("…Well that wasn't creepy," I said, biting my lips back from grinning like an idiot at his unfortunate situation. "For once I believe agree with you there," Garuru made a slight, though still very visible, shudder.)

Garuru entered into the area that Taruru was currently watching over, preparing to ask for a switch in shifts; he would guard the hallway, and the light blue frog would guard the entrance. He was about to turn the final corner when he heard a familiar low voice.

Garuru paused and listened.

Yes, it was Dobaba's- the Lieutenant instantly recognized it from the urgent message sent to him hours before.

"…While I admit you were very annoying as a child, I'm very glad you decided to grow up and make something of yourself. In the Garuru Platoon, as well! While your rank is admittedly not very high, I still believe it's only because you're young; I'm sure you will grow into a very experienced soldier, Taruru."

"You're too kind." Lighthearted chuckle.

"…You know… I've still been trying to find a suitable husband for Karara."

"…Sir?"

"I don't think she'll run away from me if it's you; you two were quite close as children, weren't you?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then it's settled! I'll begin preparing marriage requests through Headquarters. I've been wanting to marry that girl off for a while now, you know!"

"Err, yeah, that's, um. Great, but-"

A phone rang. "I'm very busy, Taruru. I'll talk to you two later. Good evening, and keep up the excellent work."

Garuru chose this time to enter. The light blue frog had a very blank look in his face, his mouth slightly opened.

"…Your first marriage request," Garuru said behind him, startling him.

"Y-yeah," Taruru stammered, a droplet of sweat forming on his left cheek. "Uh…"

"You do know you have the choice to deny it?"

"I know." Taruru looked extremely uncomfortable. "Um. So!" He regained his wide grin and his too-happy-to-be-real composure. "What's up?"

Garuru folded his arms. "I just wanted to ask if you would switch with me, but seeing as you're-"

"That's fine! I'll switch!" Taruru saluted him. "I'll make you proud, Lieutenant!" He ran off.

Garuru watched him idly for a moment, shaking his head at the young Private, unsure if the second-youngest member of his party would actually be the first among them to get married. It was an amusing thought to entertain, but not an unlikely one. He didn't know much about the girl, but he knew that Taruru would make a decent husband, if not a very lively one, if the two Keronians did decide to accept the marriage proposal.

A scream echoed throughout the corridors.

Garuru immediately materialized a weapon and ran toward the source of the noise- the girls' room.

"What happened?" Garuru snapped, his voice urgent.

"H… _HIS FACE!_" Karara pointed at Zoruru, squeezing her eyes shut, hugging her twin sister.

Garuru dispersed the matter of his gun. "…I beg your pard-?"

"I walked in the room, and she freaked out," Zoruru replied dully. He widened his eyes slightly at the purple Keronian. "L…Lieutenant…._Are you laughing at me?!_"

Garuru was smirking, though he managed to keep himself from going farther. "Chief Medic?"

Pururu was understandably frozen, completely startled by the excessive… _pitch _of the girl's screech. "U-um…" She shook her head and softened her expression. "It's alright girls… he's in our platoon."

"He's… he's not the kidnapper?" Chiroro asked quietly.

"The Lieutenant _introduced _me," Zoruru pointed out, somewhat exasperated.

"He did?" Karara opened her eyes. "Huh. I didn't notice you were there."

"It's Zeroro all over again…" Zoruru mumbled, numbly walking out of the room.

"…I'm glad to see you're alright," Garuru said as he managed to keep calm. "I was very worried that something had happened."

"Mister Garuru?" Karara stood up and gazed up at him, her eyes growing wide with admiration. "You thought… you were _worried _about me?"

"Yes… I was."

"He wanted to protect me!" Karara cried out joyfully, little hearts popping all around her.

"Oh no," Pururu said under her breath. "Not that…"

"Not what?" Garuru turned to Pururu.

"I actually wrote the kidnapper letter, because I wanted Keroro to come rescue me," Karara revealed, earning startled stares by the two members of the Garuru Platoon. "But apparently he's not all that like I thought he was. But I'm glad I did anyway! 'Cuz I got to meet _you~_" She clasped her hands together. "It's so romantic, Garuru! You trying to save me from my doom~!"

"…_You _wrote the kidnapper letter?" Pururu asked in utter disbelief. "So that the _Keroro _Platoon would come and look over you guys instead?"

"Yeah, but it didn't work out," Karara shrugged. "But it doesn't matter." Sparkles appeared around her. "I promise that I'll dutifully become your new wife, Garuru!"

"…Oh." was all Garuru could think of saying. He frowned. "…Hm."

Awkward awkward.

Garuru coughed into a closed fist. "…Well. I see that… our assistance is no longer needed…"

"Agreed," Pururu said tightly, a small vein pop on her forehead.

"But-" Karara pouted, only to be interrupted by the butler.

"Ms. Karara. Your father would like to speak to you."

"Daddy?" Karara snorted. "Probably another engagement proposal." She shook her head and looked at Garuru one last time. "Don't worry my love! I promise I won't let daddy come between us! Well! See ya!" She waved cheerfully and followed the butler out the door.

"…That was strange," Garuru said bluntly.

"She does that a lot," Chiroro said with a grin. "We're gonna come and stalk you in a while."

"…I beg your pardon?"

"I wish I could say they were joking, Lieutenant," Pururu chuckled weakly and felt her head. "Oh dear."

* * *

"That makes sense," I mused, taking my place on my bed. "Hm. Wait. Taruru-"

"His statement about the marriage proposal clears up matters; it seemed that he and Karara decided to decline the arrangement."

"Oh." It explained the somewhat awkward air between those two when Karara visited last time; honestly, as nice as Taruru was being to her, I could still feel that there was something of a bit of distance with them. I actually didn't know they were childhood friends until Garuru began his story. Weird.

"So, Lieutenant," I said with a grunt, pulling myself off the bed. "What do you say I make something for you to eat?"

"…Like?"

"I have some leftovers from last night's dinner," I offered. I walked toward my closet, carefully trying to step over Garuru's bed. "Let me go change my shirt fi-"  
_  
Squeak. _

I jumped and landed backwards. "W-what was that?"

Garuru folded his arms and tilted his head. "What was what, Cadet?"

"That… that _noise._"

"What noise, Cadet?"

"I-I heard like… l-like something…" I looked around.

"Hm. I didn't hear anything."

"B-but-"

"Please change, Cadet."

"O-oh. R-right…"

* * *

**...I made it too long again. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... **

**I'll try to make them shorter in the future... and make Garuru's stories funnier... I don't think this chapter did much except provide something of a filler. Sorry again. **


	23. Tears

**DAY TWENTY-ONE, WORD TWENTY-ONE: TEARS**

* * *

"I'm assuming it's going to rain today?"

"Hm?" I glanced at Garuru, who was staring out my window. I followed his gaze and saw what he was talking about; the sky was covered in white and pale gray clouds, all bunching up together. I guess it makes sense as to why he would think that… "Rain today…? No, it's not."

A subtle look of disappointment crossed his features. "I see."

"It's humid."

Garuru turned to look at me.

"What?" I asked. It was true; Arizona does get humid sometimes, though not as often. We suffer from what many people like to call '_dry heat'_, but when there's enough moisture in the air, and with all the sun we have to endure, we do indeed have humidity. But it's bad. Really, really bad. My fan was on full blast to keep the stupid heat away.

"…Humid?"

"Yeah."

Garuru went to my door. "I'm going to visit the New Recruit."

Well that wasn't sudden at all.

"…Um… okay, have fun."

There was no response, and I grinned wryly.

I guess right now is as good a time as any to clean my room; with Mister Grumpy gone, it should be no hassle.

Guess it's just as good to wash Garuru's sleeping bag.

I picked up the purple cloth and shook it slightly, bundling it into my arms.

_Squeak_.

I jumped. That noise again…

Thump-squeak.

I gazed down and saw the rubber ducky on the floor.

…Huh.

I gave the sleeping bag an odd look.

….The rubber ducky was in Garuru's sleeping bag? What the heck was it doing in there? I shook my head at the mystery. One of the only logical conclusions that I came up with was the fact that my dog used his bag as another doggie bed for her, bringing the toy with her and hiding it in his bed.

…But, um… wouldn't Garuru of all people (or frog-alien-thingies, take your pick) notice?

Maybe he isn't exactly a princess and the pea.

Hm.

That makes sense… sort of.

* * *

"…Johnny?"

I groaned softly, burrowing my face deeper into my pillow. What happened…? Oh, right. Fell asleep after I finished polishing my room… I mean, my curtains…. No, no, polishing my curtains…? No, that isn't right… I was polishing my _dog…_ no, my… whatever… sleep…

"…Johnny…." Someone nudged my shoulder.

"Whah ih it?"

"Mind if I stay here for a little bit?"

Wait. That voice…

I rubbed my eyes and glanced over my shoulder, down to the light blue space frog. He was smiling at me, but it wasn't as wide or eccentric as he usually kept it. In  
fact, it looked a little… forced. I blinked at him curiously. "…Uh?"

"Can I stay here for a little bit?" he asked again.

"You mean like, spend the night?" I asked.

"…No," Taruru looked at my window, where I guessed he had come in. "…I mean, like… stay… for like an hour or something."

"…Um. Sure?" I sat up.

We just remained in awkward silence for a while.

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. "So, um… what do you want to do? You hungry?"

Taruru, who had been staring at my floor this whole time, snapped out of it and looked at me. "What?"

"Are you hungry?" I inquired, sliding off my bed. "I could warm you up some leftovers."

Taruru gave me a small smile. "..Sure. I'd appreciate it."

"You like… movies?"

"…Yeah. Yeah, I do." Taruru paused for a moment, before continuing, "Especially ones that make me laugh. You got any like that?"

"I'm sure I do," I said, heading to the door. "Just follow me."

"You have a big house," Taruru observed, walking beside me.

"Yup."

He turned his attention to the wall, with all the family pictures. He chuckled. "Hey, is that you?"

"What? …Oh. Yeah." I blushed heavily. "Not the best picture of me."

"You look alright."

I stared at him for a few seconds. Typically he would agree or joke around with me, right? Or have I just been misinformed of his personality…? "…Thanks."

"No problem."

His behavior was scaring me a little. Taruru was so quiet, and he was talking so little- well… compared with how he would talk before…

"Big kitchen, too," Taruru nodded, helping himself to a chair. "It's weird though. You hardly have any walls."

True. My kitchen, dining room, and entertainment room were all in one big room, with my mom's study/work room closed off for her own space. Down the hall we had a bathroom and a laundry room next to it, which connected to the garage. Just to the right of the laundry room, we had the Hiding Closet; a weird closet that went down and then suddenly had an extra space in the side, making it a good hiding place when we played hide and seek as kids… it served as our personal pantry. And then I had an enormous living room- you literally needed to be at least over five feet tall to touch the ceiling… while on top of a ladder, and you had to reach up with a paintbrush. And that was all _downstairs._

Big house. Tiny person.

Wow! That was boring. Moving on.

"We… don't have any leftovers," I muttered, folding my arms. "..But we do have potatoes."

"Potatoes?" Taruru tilted his head.

"Yeah. I could make mashed potatoes…" Well, that isn't too hard… and I've done it before, still… "Pray for me- for both of us."

Taruru gave me a funny look, his lips twitching up to the familiar smile he usually kept on his face. "Um. Okay."

"I'll turn on the movie," I said after I began to boil the water. "So, what do you like? Cartoons, comedy… stuff?"

"It doesn't matter. Put on anything."

I put on some random movie from Netflix, and Taruru was sitting down at the dining room table, watching the screen idly. I went back to the kitchen and washed the potatoes, plunking them in the boiling water when they were clean.

I set to washing the dishes while I waited for the potatoes; it was typically my job to do that anyway. Here and there Taruru would laugh, though very dryly, like he was really exerting himself to be cheerful, unlike the usual, somewhat pleasant airiness he had no problem displaying.

…He was really worrying me.

"You, um… liking the movie?" I asked slowly, placing a wet plate on the drying rack.

"Hm? Yeah, it's alright." Taruru pointed at the screen dully. "He's a good actor. Funny. Heh heh."

"…Taruru?"

"What?"

"…Are you okay?"

Taruru licked his lips and rested his cheek against his hand. "I can't be happy _all _the time, you know." He shot me a side glance before his eyes went back to the film. "Sometimes I just need to… I don't know. Be sad for a little bit, I guess, because then if I don't, I'll bottle them all up and I'll be a mess when I can't hold it inside anymore."

I nodded in understanding. "…Okay. You know, um… if you need to talk… I'm here."

Taruru clicked his tongue against his teeth. "I'll keep that in mind."

I watched him for a second, taking in the light blue frog's posture. He was usually... really optimistic and confident most of the time, yeah? But optimistic and confident people don't slouch and brood, eyes dim, mouth lax, especially if they're watching a lighthearted comedy.

"…I'm… I'm a good scapegoat."

Taruru glanced at me again, curiously this time. He was still holding his head up with his hand. "What do you mean by that?"

"Other people do it all the time," I said with a soft chuckle. "My sister, my mom, people I know. They tell me what's bugging them- unleash it on me, actually- and they feel better when they do. Sometimes, in my mom's and sister's case, they'll scream at me because I'm just… one of those guys. If you feel like you need to get angry, it's okay to be mad at me, even if I'm not the problem."

"…You alright with that?" Taruru asked me quietly. "It doesn't, like… hurt you? In the head, I mean?"

I provided a halfhearted shrug. "That's not important. The point is, I'm here if you need to talk… okay?"

Taruru turned his attention back to the video, and I thought that that was it. I sighed and picked myself up, walking over to check on the potatoes, when I heard a stifled mutter, "I'm not useless."

"…Huh?" I looked back over to him. "…What?"

"I said I'm _not _useless," Taruru said, straightening, his fists clenching in on each other slightly. He closed his eyes tightly. "I'm _not _an idiot. I'm _not _incompetent." He suddenly shot an irritated look at me, tears glistening at the corners of his eyes. "Everyone thinks it's _so _much fun to pick on me because I'm the moron, right?" He laughed bitterly. "Of course! I'm incapable of thinking rightly for myself, right? _Right? _But hey, I think you know what I'm talking about, Johnny boy! Sure! Pick on the one who likes to laugh and smile and act like a complete idiot a lot! It's not _possible _for him to go insane with all the insults that they throw! No, no, smiles all around! Laugh it off, laugh it off! It doesn't hurt me at all. After all, I was _born _for that kind of abuse, for that stupid, shameful position! I'm a clown, a stupid pitiful clown that everyone could just… _laugh at. _Ha. Haha. _Laugh! _It doesn't hurt me! It doesn't hurt me at all! Nope, nope, nope! _Hahaha! _Laugh with me, Johnny! Laugh at my pathetic, useless creation! _Hahahaha!_" His laughs sounded so broken as he struggled to keep the sobs back. "Tell me the truth, Johnny!" He slammed his hands against the table and glared at me. "Tell me! Tell me to my frogging _face _that I'm _right, _aren't I…?" At these words, his arms began to shake, and his eyes stared at me almost hopefully despite the fact they looked so angry. When I didn't say anything, mostly from shock that… that outburst came out of nowhere, he bit his lower lip, a single tear rolling down his cheek. "_….._Aren't I?" Those fierce eyes softened to ones of absolute pain as they flickered down to the table. "I… I guess I would rather say I'm not because it helps me feel better. But I guess it's true, huh? …All of it is true." He sniffled and turned away from me, blushing. He ran his wrists against his wet face. "I'm sorry…"

A happy mask hiding a crying face.

I awkwardly walked over to him and pulled a chair next to him, sitting down. "It's okay…" I murmured, gently patting his back. "It's okay…"

Taruru hid his face against his arms and just cried. I sat by him, listening to his muffled sobs, waiting patiently.

Several minutes had gone by before he finally sat up and rubbed his eyes, taking deep breaths. He gave me a shamed glance before he quickly looked away. "…Thanks."

"…What happened?"

"…Nothing."

"…Did it involve the Lieutenant?"

"…I really don't want to talk about it."

Pop.

When you shake a bottle of soda long enough, it'll pop whether or not you intentionally open the lid.

I think he's been meaning to let it all out, but was unable to find a proper place where he could do it, where he could yell and cry and release all the thoughts that were bugging him, maybe tormenting him. I think this is the first time I've actually ever seen him… angry. For someone who smiled and laughed and joked around all the time, you would have figured that he had no troubles. He did; he just hided them behind the cheerful grin on his face. But every once in a while, even he had to let it go.

Pop.

I removed my hand from him, and rested my elbows against the table clasping my hands together. I stared at the curtains while I heard Taruru attempting to compose himself, occasionally sniffing and sighing, gasping a little for air.

"We all have our breaking moments," I said quietly.

Taruru looked at me again. He hiccupped. "…Yeah…"

"As long as we put ourselves together in the end, right?"

"…Right."

I stood up. "I'm going to finish making those mashed potatoes."

* * *

The potatoes fully cooked now, I had nimbly dropped them on a plate and was currently peeling them, getting burnt doing so, but getting used to the painful sting.

The movie had ended, and I put up some sort of murder-mystery TV show episode, wondering if he would enjoy it. He actually did so more than the last movie; maybe he just thinks pain is funny.

…Now isn't _that _a really scary thought…

"You know," I said in hopes of breaking the silence, "I'm really fascinated by, um, murders myself."

"Really. Judging by yesterday, I honestly would have doubt it."

At least there was some sort of hint Taruru was regaining his usual personality.

I grinned wryly. "I just like… the psychology of it."

"…Really?"

"Yeah. Like… who in their right mind would kill someone of their own species if they were mentally stable?" I sat down on a chair a little further from him. "Like… people kill people… even that sentence sends shivers up my arm, because it sounds so unnatural. '_People kill people_'. I like to delve into the mind of _why. _Even for big things like riches, or what they dub 'self-defense' when it isn't self-defense at all, or just… _anything. _Who in their right mind would kill their own?"

Taruru shrugged a shoulder, like he honestly couldn't care.

"…Hey, Taruru?"

"Yes?"

"What happened between you and Karara?"

His eyes dilated at this, and he turned sharply toward me. "…How'd you know it was Karara?"

Oops. I blushed heavily. "U-um…"

"…Did the Lieutenant tell you?"

"…Yes…"

Taruru gazed back down at the table. I wondered if I just made things worse for him and Garuru now…

"…I'm sorry… I was being nosy…"

"Yeah, you were," he said, giving me a weak grin. "But you let me yell at you, right? And not to mention scare the crap out of you." He chuckled dryly, and I felt my face turn even redder. "So, um… I guess I wouldn't mind telling you- but I don't want you to be spreading this around to anyone. Not even Garuru. Got it?"

I nodded meekly.

Taruru took a deep breath.

* * *

"First Private Taruru. Master Dobaba would like to speak with you."

The butler seemed so formal and _old_ compared to the youthful maid that used to take care of him and Karara when they were younger. Taruru supposed that since they were getting older, a servant that treated them more freely and more like children wasn't needed anymore, especially since Karara's father was intent on marrying the oldest of the twins off to someone else.

He also supposed that the older man had gotten desperate as well; _what wealthy bazillionaire _would attempt to marry off their daughter to some hapless, happy-go-lucky orphaned nobody?

Taruru walked down the halls behind the butler, abandoning his post after Garuru had confirmed with him that it was alright; apparently the kidnapper letter was some sort of fake plot device to get Keroro to come to her.

_Just like Karara_, Taruru thought with a grin. His smile faded when he realized the real situation at hand. She skipped off to every other guy in a heartbeat, announcing to them that she would be their most dearly beloved. He had even been involved in her little schemes to help her get the guy that she had, in that time, felt attracted to.

He had never been one of those 'every other guys'.

It never bothered Taruru before; it was just one of those games that suited his fancy. It was always fun to come up with ridiculous ideas and then go down to Pekopon to see them in action. Sure, the plans never _worked, _but it was still a lot of fun.

Thinking about it now, it really _did _bug him.

He had figured that it was probably because he wasn't grown up yet, but when he did show up to her as an adult, it was clear she saw him the same as she did before he joined the Garuru Platoon.

And it bugged him.

Taruru wondered what she would think about the proposal. Probably run away again to Keroro, her father again having to no doubt force her back to Keron.

"Here we are," the aging Keronian said, smoothly waving an arm to large metal doors. "Master Dobaba is in here."

The butler spun around and left, seeing as there was no need to linger around for anyone anymore.

Taruru took a deep breath to calm his shaking nerves and timidly pushed the door open a little. He heard voices; Dobaba and… Karara.

They were talking.

"_Daddy. _Another one?" came her voice, slightly high-pitched and whiney.

"Yes, another one." Though the father's voice sounded more pleased and comfortable in comparison to the exasperated, angry tone he would typically give the younger girl. Taruru wondered if it was because he earnestly believed that Taruru was the one she would agree to, and the thought made him a little… happy. It was one of the few times that he felt someone actually decided to have faith in him.

Karara sighed. "How old is he this time, like… old? Again?"

"No, he's around your age."

"…Really?"

True. Her father had the habit of giving her old men as a husband. Taruru shivered at the thought of one of them he had come by and met: one of her suitors needed a crane to walk, and he had wrinkles. Scratch that. Wrinkles on his wrinkles. And he could count all his teeth in one hand. Talk about creepy.

It wasn't a wonder why Karara was fascinated and surprised. But even this she wouldn't let her falter. "No, I cannot, daddy! I'm in love with another!"  
Taruru rolled his eyes slightly, his smile widening. She watched too many romantic dramas. He would know; he would sometimes be forced into watching them when they wrestled for the remote at her house (she won most of the time; the little fights would typically end with her sitting on his back and turning _L'amour de Frog. _And yes, it was as corny as it sounded).

"You do know he's here. In fact, he's on his way right now."

"He's… _here? _Already? Have you been planning this way before I knew?! You _know _how much I hate that!"

Taruru pushed the door further and let himself in, his usual confidence immediately dropping when Karara and Dobaba turned to look at him.

"Oh. Hey, Taruru." Karara said blandly. She glanced at her father before gazing back at him. "You need to talk to daddy about something?"

Taruru's mouth felt dry, and a weird, warm sensation crossed against his cheeks. Finding himself unable to talk, he just nodded shyly and sat in the chair next to her, looking down, that strange hot feeling increasing as he felt her curious gaze upon him.

"Do… you want me to leave?" Karara asked slowly, turning back to her father.

"Karara," Dobaba straightened in his desk. "I have arranged for a marriage request between you and the Private."  
Karara's eyes dilated as she sharply turned to look at Taruru. "_What?_" She stood up, her poise defensive. "I have to marry… _him?_"

"Is there a problem?"

"Of _course _there is a problem! He's… _Taruru!_" The way she said his name sounded like the way one said the word 'cockroach' or 'vermin'. He was sure not to let it show, but he couldn't deny the fact that it hurt him. "Besides! I'm… I'm in love with Garuru!"

Taruru rolled his eyes again and leaned against his chair, this time more with annoyance than good-hearted humor. _Figures. _

Her father had a similar reaction. "Be reasonable, Karara. He's about as old as some of your other suitors; you said you wanted someone more around your age, and the Private is technically _your age." _

"But he's _Taruru._"

"Yep, I'm Taruru," the light blue frog said brightly. "You keep saying that, but I don't think your dad and I get what your point is, Karara."

"Look." Karara let out a sigh, her fingers at her forehead. "It's not me, it's you. Okay, Taruru? You're just… _Taruru. _I would list all of the reasons why I could never marry you and we'd probably be here all night, okay?"

Taruru cringed at this. She was being uncharacteristically… _cruel. _Not even as a kid did she ever say anything so brash to him. And if the same exact words did leave her mouth, they were typically as a joke, and she never forgot to say it was. He was waiting for her to say that, but she didn't. He shuffled in his chair.

"I know it's awkward," Taruru said with a forceful grin. "But you don't have to be so mean about it."

"Love makes you do crazy things," Karara replied, somewhat dreamily.

"So it has to do more with the fact you're in love with the Lieutenant, and not me?" Taruru asked dryly. He wasn't sure whether to be irritated at that fact or the other, or both in general. All he knew was that he was getting annoyed, and he really didn't like that feeling.

"Mm, it's actually both."

"What's wrong with me?" Taruru asked finally, unable to keep beating around the bush. "I thought I was your friend."

"You are my friend," Karara said sympathetically. "You're just not…" She searched for the right word. "_Husband _material."

"And what exactly _is _'husband material', Karara?"

"Well, you have to be good-looking, for starters," she replied nonchalantly, like what she said meant, earnestly, that it was no big deal. "And not to mention _smart. _What were your grades in school, Taruru? Go ahead. Tell daddy." She looked at her father when he wouldn't make a reply. "See, daddy? At least I have a good _reason _as to why I don't want to marry him."

Taruru blinked at her, his eyes wide with shock. No words could describe how much that hurt- absolutely none. His eyes relaxed as he folded his arms and made himself comfortable again. He grinned, and he could've sworn that she shuddered a little at this. "Or it could be because you have bad taste."

"I don't have bad taste!" Karara snapped.

"Mmhm. So you're going to deny that you would have happily dropped dead for a curry-obsessed sociopath freak that, may I remind you, nearly _killed _you, an eternally traumatized blue guy that no one remembers, a stalwart battle-scarred soldier with _obvious _feelings toward someone else and a man-child that could easily care less about exchanging a lovesick little girl for a gundam model?" Taruru snorted. "You're hilarious, Karara."

"I _don't _have bad taste!" Karara repeated, her cheeks turning red. "If I did, I would have fallen for you a long time ago!"

"Karara, I don't want to fight," Taruru said, holding his hands up. "Insulting each other is probably going to make this a whole lot worse-"

"There's no such thing as 'this'_,_" Karara emphasized the last word with her fingers. "I don't want to marry you."

Taruru rose his brows. "Okay."

"…Okay?"

"Yup. Honestly, that's all you had to say." He pushed his chair back as he stood up. "I'm, uh… I'm afraid I'm going to have to turn down the marriage request, sir."

Dobaba glared at his daughter, who smiled smugly and folded her arms, delighted at her latest victory.

"No hard feelings, Taruru?" Karara asked cheerfully.

Taruru smiled at her. "…Sure."

Most of their fights usually ended with her winning.

This particular event was no different.

"Um, Taruru?"

The light blue frog looked over his shoulder to Karara, who gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "We're still friends, right?"

Taruru blinked at her blankly, unsure of how to appropriately respond. Being wrathful really wasn't his style, was it? Thinking about it, he actually didn't get angry all that often. He wasn't sure he even liked feeling like this. He sighed and gazed down. "…Yeah, um… of course."

"Let's go outside really quick," Karara whispered, gesturing toward her father, who was shuffling papers around in his desk.

Taruru nodded, and opened the door to let her out. When he closed it, she surprised him with a sudden hug. "You know I meant none of those things, right?" She giggled. "You were such a good actor! I honestly thought you were serious about all that stuff you said!"

|Taruru blinked at her, confused. "…Huh?"

"I wanted daddy to see that we hated each other so that we didn't have to get married," Karara said with a chuckle, pleased at her plan. "I was afraid you were going to get mad, but I'm glad you caught on!"

"….Wait… so…?"

"I'm not giving up on Garuru so easily!" Karara said, a bright shine in her eyes. "I'm sure you understand, right?"

Taruru couldn't believe it. He wasn't sure if he wanted to snap at her, or hit the wall, or do anything to present the frustration that currently went through his mind.

So instead he just laughed.

Karara smiled at him curiously. "What's so funny?"

"Don't do that again."

"Yeah, I won't," Karara replied nonchalantly made an cutesy grin. "Even though none of it was real, I want you to know that I take it all back, alright?"

"But you can't," Taruru said brightly, making her frown a little. Frankly, he was irritated with the fact that she was sounding so _casual _about it, like what she had told him was no big deal, as if it was all a simple little accident that they could laugh over teacups and pancakes. "Next time you want to make someone go through Hell because nothing is going your way, leave me out of it, you got that?"

Karara stared at him in bewilderment. After a still moment, her expression twisted to one of irritation. "Don't get mad at me! What the heck was I supposed to do, Taruru?"

"You could've just told me you weren't interested," he replied coolly, that cheerless smile remaining on his face. "And I would've happily consented. I'm not going to tell you that what you told me didn't hurt just to make you feel better, you know." He folded his arms. "And for the record, I _did _think it was real. All that stuff you told me _hurt. _I never 'caught on' to anything. So seriously, Karara- _grow up and don't do that again_."

Karara winced a little, and her eyes dulled with dejection. "…Oh." She looked back up at him, her face full of earnest remorse. "…I'm... sorry, Taruru. I, um… I really did think you knew it was all fake…"

Taruru softened. As weird as it was, he couldn't stay mad at her. He wasn't sure why; it might have been the fact that they had known each other for such a long time, and he was just used to it, used to her shenanigans and the stupid things she did. Or it could be the fact that she looked like she meant it. Or he just didn't like getting mad. Or something else entirely. He wasn't sure. He grinned like he typically did and pat her head. "It's okay. Really, it's fine. I'm not going to say I'm not mad, but I promise you I'll get over it eventually."

"…You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

They stood in awkward silence for a moment, rubbing their arms anxiously.

"…Are we still friends, Taruru?"

"Hm?" Taruru looked down at her.

Karara was playing with one of the flaps on her hat. "...Are we still friends?"

"Yeah, of course... why do you ask?"

"…It's just… when you left, um… I couldn't find you. You were gone."

"I was drafted," Taruru said blankly. "I didn't have time to call you or anything."

"But you could have messaged me or written me letters in your spare time, right?"

Taruru cringed at this. That was true.

"I guess I was a little mad that you didn't bother trying to communicate with me," Karara confessed. "But still… I don't know. You're right; I could've just said that I didn't want to marry you. But I think that my being so mean to you was just the sort of payback that I needed…"

Taruru sighed. She was just the kind of person to try and blame her misdeeds on someone else…

"Give me your email."

"W…what?"

Taruru held out his hand. "Give me your email. Or number, or anything. It might compensate for this really awkward fight we just had."

"We had plenty of fights in the past before…"

"But not like this; you know that, right?"

Karara was quiet. "…Yeah." Suddenly, a particular thought sparked in her mind, and she looked up at Taruru eagerly. "Wait. So, will you tell me all sorts of stuff about Garuru so that I could make him love me?"  
_  
Here we go, _Taruru thought bitterly. "Well that was fast, Karara."

"…Oops." Karara blushed. "…I'm sorry."

"I got an idea," Taruru said, raising a finger in the air. "Okay, how about this: we're each going to do something so that we could compensate each other for what we did, okay?"

"Like that time you ripped my doll and I made you give me your toenail-card collection?"

"Right," Taruru chuckled, feeling the discomfort receding. "For not calling you, I'll give you my email and tell you lots of stuff about the Lieutenant, okay? But for you being mean to me…" He paused and thought. A smile crept on his face. "…You have to kiss me."

"…What." Karara frowned. It took a minute to absorb the words. "_What?_"

"You heard me." He wasn't sure _why _he came up with that unusual bargain, but whatever the reason, he wanted her to pay up. "You have to kiss me."

"…On the… cheek, right?"

Taruru grinned happily. "Nope."

Karara blinked at him. "Uh…"

Being near the wall, Taruru found it easy to gently push her against it, his face mere centimeters apart. "Just one little kiss. Then I'll forget all about it-"

"T-…_Taruru this isn't funny!_" the girl cried out, shoving him away. A dark rosy blush had tinted her cheeks. "If you're trying to get back at me then fine! You got back! What do you really want?"

The light blue Keronian stared at her for a dull moment before he smiled again. "Yeah, you're right. It was a joke." He whipped a pen out of nowhere. "Give me your hand."

"…Wh… why?"

"I'm writing my email on it~" Taruru said, taking it and writing something down. "There. Feel free to message me whenever."

"…So, um… what do _you_ want?"

Taruru pointed at her hand. "I want you to email me." He stopped for a while, and then snickered.

"What?" Karara smirked a little, planting her hands on her hips. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing~" he mused. "I just feel bad for the Lieutenant."

"And why is that?"

"He'll have to put up with you."

"…_Hey!_"

"Oh, Taruru!" Chiroro ran up to him, panting slightly. She looked up hopefully. "Have you seen Tororo?"

"Um…" Taruru scratched his chin. "I… think he might be in the main room. But then again, we're going to leave now."

"What?!" Karara pouted. "Garuru's leaving already?"

"Yeah, he and Pururu were pretty ticked because of that prank you pulled, Karara," Chiroro said, shaking her head.

"Love makes you do crazy things," Karara and Taruru chimed together, Taruru going as far as imitating her putting the hands together in an overly-romantic gesture. Karara gave him a playful glare, and he grinned in response.

"Why do you ask?" Taruru asked.

"I wanted to give him my email."

"Oh! Speak of the devil." Taruru gave her his pen and stretched out his arm. "Write it on here. And I'll give it to Tororo."

"Thanks," Chiroro said with a shy smile, doing so.

"So you'll email me, right?" Karara inquired.

"Of course, if I'm not busy or anything."

And then the whole house exploded.

There were towels everywhere, burning on fire, and an ice cream truck soared through the air. The sky looked like a cow, the grass smelly tuna, and 'Keronian Melodies' was played everywher…

* * *

"Wait, _what?_"

Taruru was laughing as he pointed at me, trying to keep the mashed potatoes in his mouth. "You should've seen the look on your face! You look like you really bought it!"

I sagged my shoulders. I should've known. "You know, the word 'gullible' isn't found in the dictionary."

Taruru stopped, his eyes growing wide with wonder. "…_Seriously?_"

…He bought it?

Taruru jumped off the seat and pulled out the dictionary from my bookshelf.

_He actually bought it?!_

Wow. Why do I suddenly feel so accomplished in life?

I actually gullible-the-dictionary'ed someone?!

"Hey! It so is in the dictionary!" Taruru said, pointing at the book in his hands. "See! 'Easily persuaded to believe something'." He paused, and continued, "…'And if you looked up gullible in the dictionary than you are indeed more gullible than Johnny. Congratulations. You get a cookie'." Taruru stared at it for the longest time. "…Wait a second…."

"What is this?" Garuru asked, coming in.

Whoa. I didn't hear the door…

Maybe he just walked in through the fourth wall…

….

…What am I saying? Ugh. No more drinking two cups of pure caffeine for me…

"Hiya Lieutenant!" Taruru piped, hopping to his feet and giving him a salute.

Garuru frowned, tilting his head slightly. "…the girl has been looking for you."

Taruru beamed. "Rita?! Cool! I'll go see her!" He skipped past the Lieutenant, who stopped him by reaching an arm out. The light blue frog ran into it and fell on the floor. Taruru giggled. "What's up? Besides you, I mean?" He waved. "How's the weather up there?"

"…Are… you alright, Private?" Garuru inquired, looking down at him.

"Johnny fed me drugs."

"I… _What?!_" My eyes dilated and I waved my hands. "No, no, no! I didn't! I swear I didn't!"

Garuru leaned down and poked Taruru's face. "Please get up, Private. What you are doing now is undignified."

Taruru puckered out his lips, his eyes widening and turning glittery. "_Kiss me, Garuru._"

The purple frog immediately jumped to his feet and backed away, Taruru laughing at his own joke. "Sorry, chief; I'm in a really good mood right now."

"…Right…" Garuru gently tugged at his belt. "Like I said before, your partner has been wondering where you had run off to. If I were you I would-"

"I got it," Taruru said dismissively, getting up and dusting himself. He turned and waved to me. "Thanks for the mashed fleaomaotoes, Johnny!"

"…Potatoes."

"Whatever!" Taruru ran to the door and left, closing it quietly behind him.

"…What happened?" I asked Garuru.

The Lieutenant turned to gaze at me. "What do you mean? I was about to ask you the same question."

I blinked at him. "…Nothing happened when you went over there?"

"He just disappeared," Garuru folded his arms. "I was speaking to the New Recruit concerning the parts that we currently have, and were requesting certain ones to the Sergeant Major when Taruru disappeared."

"Was… Rita worried?"

"Not at first. She seemed nonchalant about it." Garuru glanced at the clock. "But when he didn't return for several hours, she went outside to look for him, figuring that he was dried up in the pavement." He stopped to look at his fingers. "She had barely come home when I decided to head back."

"…Taruru's weird," I said bluntly.

"Indeed he is."

"…Do you regret having him in your platoon, Lieutenant?"

"No." Didn't need to think about it.

"For real?"

"You sound surprised."

"But…" I sat down on the couch. "Don't you guys mention how annoying he is sometimes?" I stopped briefly. "..._All _the time?"

"…He may act a bit childish," Garuru mused. "But everyone in my platoon is a cherished and valuable member."

"…You really think so?"

"I do."

"Wow." I grinned slightly. "You really care about them despite the fact you don't like calling them your friends, huh?"

"They are my teammates," Garuru reminded me needlessly. "…But yes… I suppose you can say I have a certain degree of concern for them."

"Hm," I couldn't stop myself from smiling. "You really are like a wolf."

"…I beg your pardon?"

"You know, once when I was a baby, like, literally maybe two years old, a queen sized mattress fell on me?" I asked, leaning against the couch.

"That certainly explains a lot about your mental condition."

I stared at him. "…Lieutenant… are you trying to be funny?"

"I'm serious, as I always am."

"…Right…" I suddenly caught him grinning. "…Wait, so…"

"I suppose it is now my turn now, Cadet?"

"Wait, so you really did-?!"

"Familiarity, Cadet."

* * *

"Big bro! Hiii!"

Garuru looked up. His heart began to race as he saw his little brother on top of the refrigerator. "H-…_how_ the heck did you get up there!?"

Giroro blinked down at him. "I wanted the cookies.."

"_Get down!_" Garuru hissed as he turned his head this way and that, biting his lower lip. "Dad's going to kill me if he sees you up there!"

"But I want a cookie."

"You know that tiny voice that everyone has that tells you that it's dangerous to do anything?"

"…Yeah…"

"_Listen to it for once!_"

Giroro was silent for a moment. "…._Yolo!_"

"What the heck does that even mean?!" Garuru asked, exasperated.

"I have no clue." Giroro shrugged. "I made it up."

The purple Keronian sighed. "Stay there. Don't move a muscle." He spun around and ran to the dining room and grabbed on to the nearest chair. He grunted as he pulled it toward the kitchen.

"Hey, Garuru? Can I still move my finger?"

"_Not a muscle, Giroro!_"

By the time Garuru had gotten to the fridge, his little brother was gone. "W…_what?!_"

"April Fools!" Giroro cried out, startling the purple space frog, who fell off and landed on his own face. Giroro giggled and held up a black ball. "I used your Kero ball to get me up there. Cool, huh?"

Garuru snatched it back. "First off, _I told you not to touch this. _Second, that's dangerous; don't ever do it again. And third, what the frog is April Fools day?"

Giroro rocked himself back and forth. "April Fools day is a Pekoponian holiday. We're learning about it in school. It's when you get to prank people all day."

Garuru tilted his head. "You… prank?"

"You know, like… you play jokes on them. Like I did," Giroro smiled.

"And it's… today?"

"No clue." Giroro shrugged.

A grin stretched on Garuru's lips, and Giroro took a tiny step back. "You do know I'm going to get you back, right?"

"Uh oh."

"'Uh oh' indeed," Garuru said with a small chuckle as he stood up. "You better look out, because it's going to be good." He dusted himself and grabbed the chair, pulling it back over to the dining room, leaving Giroro alone in the kitchen.

The little red Keronian shivered. "Um… it isn't going to… _hurt, _is it?"

"It might."

Giroro's eyes widened with fear. He followed his older brother, who was going to his room to put his Kero ball away. "Um… can you… tell me what it is?"

"Nope. Not the point of a prank, li'l bro."

"It's going to hurt, isn't it?" Giroro whimpered.

Garuru made a funny face at the small opened safe that was sitting on his bed. "How did you even get into this?"

"Your password is '0000'. Not that hard, bro."

Garuru straightened his lips and muttered something as he threw the ball inside and turned his back toward the red tadpole, closing the safe and inserting a new combination. "There. Now there's no way for you to get in it."

Giroro looked a little bored. "'1111'."

The purple Keronian stared at him. "…You peeked, didn't you?"

"No."

"Um.." He made a different number lock. "…Okay. I'm done."

"It's '2222', isn't it?"

"…Please get out of my room, Giroro."

* * *

"Giroro, that train TV show you like is on!" Garuru called. He grinned mildly as he heard the footsteps of his little brother… that smile twisting into a frown of confusion as he saw Giroro enter the living room completely covered in pillows and duct tape. "…Uhh…?"

The red tadpole hobbled over to him, _thumping _on the floor beside him.

Garuru waved his hand slightly. "Giroro, this… this _look. _It's…" He paused to laugh. "It's very interesting. But, um… _why?_"

"I'm protecting myself from you."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"You're going to prank me, remember?"

"…Yeah…"

"Sh! It's on!"

They watched the show like they usually did, as purple Keronian and pillow monster. Whenever a funny part came on the screen, Garuru would see one of the pillows doubling over and laughing, and not his baby brother. It was actually more entertaining to watch Giroro than it was to watch the TV show, and that he did.

"What are you staring at?" Giroro asked. "Are you going to prank me now?"

"No. Not yet."

The show ended. Giroro scrambled to his feet… or attempted to. When he found he couldn't he began to roll himself away.

Garuru tried not to seem too amused by his little brother's spectacle. "Um… Giroro. What are you doing?"

"I'm staying away from you! You're going to hurt me!"

The purple frog picked himself up and followed him casually. Giroro tried rolling himself even faster, but Garuru didn't even bother increasing in speed, catching up to him just as quickly and easily.

"So _now _you're going to prank me?"

"Um, no. Not yet."

Giroro pushed himself off the wall and began to roll to the door, Garuru moving out of the way to continue following him.

"Can you open that for me, bro?"

"Sure." Garuru unlocked the door and let Giroro out, who managed to get to his feet and wobble outside.

"Are you going to keep following me?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Stop."

"I can't; you're not allowed outside without supervision, remember?"

Giroro jumped at this realization, mumbled to himself and clumsily turned around, tripping over the duct tape that was sticking out and falling to the floor. He flailed for a moment, Garuru sighing resignedly to walk over and pick him up. He threw the pillows over his shoulder and went back inside the house. He plopped the still-covered Giroro on the sofa.

"Are you going to take those off?" Garuru asked with a small smile.

"Not until you prank me!"

"Mm. I see. Well…" Garuru mused. "…It's good to be prepared, right?"

"Right!"

"I'm home," a tired, familiar voice rang out.

"Hi dad!"

"Hey!"

"You make dinner yet, Garuru?"

"Garuru made a monster come to life, dad," came the muffled voice of the youngest son. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Ha-ha," Garuru said dryly. "Very funny."

"We can order take-out," their father called out.

"Sounds good!"

Their father stared at his sons, loosening the tie that was wound tightly around his neck.

"…Garuru, why is Giroro dressed like that?"

Garuru shrugged. "I don't know."

"Garuru is planning on hurting me," Giroro said matter-of-factly.

Their father smirked at his oldest son, who mirrored the gesture. "You're… planning on hurting Giroro?"

"It's called April Fools day," Giroro and Garuru said simultaneously.

"You prank people all day," Giroro explained.

"Yeah. Giroro pranked me so I said I was going to prank him," Garuru shrugged again, unable to resist the grin that came onto his face. "Little did he know, I forgot all about it."

The little red space frog turned to him, eyes dilated. "…You… _forgot?_"

"Oops~"

"_GARURU!_"

"April Fools day~"

* * *

"Oh. April Fools day is actually coming up," I said, deciding it would be redundant to mention that the younger Garuru acted nothing like the current Garuru.

"So you do celebrate it here?" Garuru asked me, tilting his head slightly.

"Yeah, but I never do any…" I gave him a look as soon as I saw a calculating expression cross his normally serene features. "…Don't even think about it."

Garuru smirked at me, gazing at me coolly. "…Think about… what, Cadet~?"

Judging by the tilde symbol at the end of his sentence, I knew it wasn't going to be good.

…Oh my.

* * *

**So many out of character moments in this chapter. I'm so sorry. **

**If all of this seems so random, I honestly didn't mean to... I planned it all out. And I know I've been concentrating a lot of Taruru lately; I figured that if I'm going to write about the Platoon, it's going to be all of them. Obviously, I'm not going to be able to talk about them all at once (except when Garuru tells the story when they all met for the first time... that should be fun) so I'm starting off with Taruru. Though, if you may or may not noticed, I sprinkled some hints about the others that will be mentioned eventually.**

**I actually really like Taruru. I have this weird habit of liking the characters that everyone likes the least (Saburo and Mandarin for example). I think it's because I feel like there's more to write about them since typically people don't write the characters they hate/don't like. Did you know originally he was supposed to be Johnny's partner? Yup, it wasn't Garuru; it was Taruru. But I thought it would be a little off if I made Johnny the narrator with Taruru as his partner, so I just changed the characters around.**

**Also, no one wanted Taruru as a partner. I'm not kidding. When everyone submitted their characters, it was, quite literally, every single character they requested except Taruru (and Garuru, but for obvious reasons). **

**I revealed a lot about him in this chapter, but I'm going to let RunwithscissorsXXXbattlescar s expand on his character. I hope I didn't do too much...**

**...And I am _not _going to Marty-Stu-ify him, but if it sounds like I do, please wake me up with a five hundred pound elephant, and I'll fix it. **


	24. Online

**DAY TWENTY-TWO, WORD TWENTY-TWO: ONLINE**

_**As Told by KITTY**_

* * *

-Rainbowkittyblossomwings is logged in-

I quickly typed my summary and submitted it to the judgmental eyes of fanfiction.

Writing fanfiction is a great escape. And so is the internet. Being on-line is something that is very convenient to escape all your real world troubles.

The on-line world is so much more fake and safe than the real one.

"You watching the old man like I told you to?" Tororo asked, turning to see me on my computer.

"Uh….Y-yeah," I lied, exiting google chrome and opening the security cameras yet again. It's not that I didn't find stalking not fun, it's just that I needed to write; that and my on-line community beckoned me. Unfortunately, Tororo's watchful eyes noticed the crack in my voice covering the obvious lie I couldn't be bothered trying to hide.

"What were you doing?" Tororo, who I imagined narrowed his eyes suspiciously, said. I couldn't tell because he was wearing glasses. Someday I too would wear swirly glasses like him to mask all emotion. Because swirly glasses are boss.

"N-nothing." I lied. He sneered at me.

"We'll see about that." Expertly pressing some buttons on his computer he hacked into mine to see what I was up to. He was not happy at what he saw. "FANFICTION? TOROCHIRO? What exactly is the meaning of this, Kitty?!"

"Um…Well, the meaning, or the moral of the story, would be true love can triumph over anything." I explained, hoping to calm him if I gave him the summary, "It's about Chiroro being captured by space pirates and your platoon is tasked to rescue her. You rescue her heroically, but the space pirates are still after you. You two are forced to escape for help and battle them together when Karara is murdered, Taruru goes into a depressed emo state, Pururu goes into a coma, Garuru only cares about her and isn't listening to your problems, and that's all the characters. You eventually triumph and then you have a long beautiful make out session."

His face turned to a red color. I don't know if it was from anger or embarrassment. Perhaps it was both.

"You're supposed to be monitoring my arch rival and getting blackmail on him! Not…Frolicking on-line and making sick fanfiction!" Tororo glared, obviously riled up and not too happy. "Why would you even write something like this about me?" he asked.

"Um…Because I'm a fanfiction writer obsessed with pairings and romance and as my friend you have the reward of being shipped hard with someone." I told him. He still fumed in anger.

"Why couldn't you write fanfiction about someone else? Like the old man!" He asked.

"I did," I answered honestly, "I'm taking a break on Kulumois now and expanding my abilities by playing with Torochiro."

"WHAT. JUST WHAT." Tororo seemed stunned, "First of all, are you saying you wrote romantic fanfiction about the guy I tasked you to stalk, and second of all, your saying that I'm the _second _thing you wrote about? And just a plaything compared to, to, Kulumois?" Tororo asked now even angrier and shaking about being put lower than his rival. I put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Yes." I gave the blunt answer.

He turned around to punch the wall.

"What would commander cookie say?" He asked, looking at me as if I was dirt.

Maybe I was dirt. If I happened to disgrace the great, commander cookie, I was surely less than that.

I turned to a cookie that was placed on a pedestal. I secretly replaced him everyday so he wouldn't get old, but he was still holy.

"Oh, great, magical, commander cookie, I have possibly disgraced you by writing fanfiction and caring about it more than revenge. Is this wrong?" I asked, bowing at the commander's feet.

Commander cookie said nothing.

Apparently he did not speak to people who have disgraced him.

I turned to Tororo to beg his forgiveness.

"Would I make it up to you if I used the fanfiction I wrote to spam Kululu?" I asked, hoping hurting someone else would get me out of the doghouse.

Tororo's lips curled in a smile.

"Pu, pu, pu…You did what?" he asked, slightly confused.

"I sent the fanfiction I wrote, not including the Torochiro one, to the e-mail address you gave me that was Kululu's." I told him.

"You're an idiot. He's going to send you a computer virus and then you'll pay for writing fanfiction." He told me.

"I sent them on my Mom's e-mail and on her computer." I told him. Tororo just stared at me. "Her problem now." I shrugged.

In the room next to mine the computer exploded.

"I guess that means he liked them." I smiled, wondering if he gave me a good review on fanfiction. I checked, only seeing a big fat flame. "Aw….He didn't like it." I frowned.

Tororo looked over my shoulder. He suddenly put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it.

"Your on-line shenanigans might have actually done something useful. Pu, pu, pu…He's irritated." He grinned, "You know what this means?"

"Um…Chickens are suddenly wearing pantyhose?"

"No. We have a weapon in this war now. Pu, pu, pu. Kitty, as punishment for that horrible, awful fanfiction you wrote about Chiroro and I, I order you to write as many Kulumois fanfiction as you can," he commanded. I smiled. Writing and boosting my followers as an order? Dream come true.

"Can I make AMVs?" I asked hopeful.

"Yes, definitely," he agreed. I high-fived myself.

"Best order ever." I knew this order was made of win.

"You still aren't forgiven though." Tororo glared. I frowned.

"Darn it," I cursed. He turned from me, finishing his order.

I sat down to do my duty. I kept him posted in our progress in this war every few minutes through e-mail. E-mailing was one of the few ways I stayed connected to the real world.

After a while Tororo turned to me, breaking our silence that our computers did not speak in.

"Hey, Kitty…Do you have no life? Pu, pu, pu," he asked curiously.

"Yes. Why do you ask?" I went back to typing.

"You don't go to school. You just play on the internet all day," he finally observed.

"Well, you play on your computer all day too. Why don't you go to school? You're a kid." I answered, it's not that I didn't want to share, it's just that the same was true for him.

There was silence until he answered the obvious.

"I'm in the military, I have work. Why would I go to school?" he asked.

"Oh." I finally answered. After thinking it over for a minute I finally asked what was bugging me. "Why are you in the military so young? Why'd you stop going to school?"

Tororo stopped typing on his computer and turned to me to answer this question. He seemed to have an air of pride around him.

"Gather around, pekoponian, and I'll explain why." He smiled. I stared at him, awaiting the story.

* * *

"Tororo…You're at the top of the class again!" Kukiki pat his head affectionately, "Your mother will be so proud."

"It was nothing. All the information I needed for any paper was always on-line. And if a site was closed to me, I could just hack it. Pu, pu, pu." Tororo told her proudly. "Information flies around on the net and I can easily snatch it."

Kukiki, the brownish-gold keronian frowned at him.

"Tororo! You know if you get caught you'll be in big trouble," she said, "What if you get thrown into jail or something?" She asked looking at him.

"I won't get caught. I'm great at hacking things. I'm sure I could even hack into the keronian military database if I set my mind to it," he boasted.

Kukiki's eyes widened in shock.

She slapped him to wake him up from his fantasies.

"Don't speak like that in this house. While you're staying here you'll give no reason for the military to question our loyalty or put us through an inspection." Kukiki told him.

Tororo frowned and shrugged.

"I know, I know, Kukiki. You've said that a million times."

"And I'll say it again and again until you get the message. If the military gets suspicious about you after you cause trouble they'll inspect us, and what if something happened and the government inspected us and found that I wasn't your legal guardian? What if they took you away? Your mother would kill me if that happened." Kukiki reminded Tororo.

"No, she wouldn't. Mom loves you, Kukiki." Tororo told her. "And anyway, hacking into sites for school reports doesn't cause the military to come down on us at full force. That would be stupid."

"What if the sites find someone was hacking them and tracks you down?" Kukiki asked. Tororo laughed.

"It wouldn't be that big of a deal. And anyway even if the government found you weren't my legal guardian we could always have Mom just fly in and explain that you were just babysitting. Pu, pu, pu." Tororo answered.

"For a year? They would think I was a kidnapper or something." Kukiki told him.

"Well, Mom could explain that you weren't." Tororo gave the obvious solution, "Speaking of Mom… When's she coming home?" he asked periodically what he would ask every week.

Kukiki got a far off look.

"S-soon," she lied.

"Really? Because you've been saying 'soon', for the last year. She flew off to Toadville a year ago, Kukiki." He reminded her, slightly annoyed, "Why isn't she home yet?"

"Um…Una industries called her off on another business trip." Kukiki gave another obvious lie.

Tororo glared. Kukiki pat his head affectionately and left to make cookies in a rather desperate attempt at avoiding the rest of the conversation.

"Information flies around on the net and I can easily snatch it." Tororo recited to himself. He was about to find out to do some high-tech hacking.

Kukiki would never find out.

That night Tororo sat at his computer typing wildly. His mother's computer company responded that she wasn't an employee.

He searched wildly every website and database beside the military he could think of.

He got nothing.

"The military has everyone's files…." Tororo looked at his screen blankly. He bit his lower lip. "For Mom…. After all, Kukiki isn't my mother." He began to type.

After hacking through the firewalls and security measures, Tororo managed to find the database with every single citizens information, including current location. Tororo searched his mother's name and opened her file.

_Keronian: Tekiki_

_Sex: Female_

_Occupation: Computer programmer Una industries_

_Age: 4678 keronian years_

_Spouse: None_

_Son: Tororo_

_Status: Deceased_

Tororo skimmed the information and finally saw the last word in the initial file. He read the word deceased over and over again. Finding the date of death, it matched a day after his mother had left.

He stared dumbly at the screen.

"No….No!" Tears formed in his eyes, but he quickly shook them out, replacing his feelings with anger, "They're lying. And if they're lying…They deserve to be punished…Pu, pu, pu…" In his anger and to distract himself he took down the security measures on every file in the database. The military didn't deserve defenses.

Needless to say the military was in a panic because of him.

After taking out his anger on files after files of important things, he finally just stared at his screen, trying to piece together what had just occurred.

It only took three hours for the military to track him down with primitive methods. They barged into his house.

He didn't even care when they dragged him away, hearing Kukiki beg behind them to let him stay.

When he was put in a cell he just waited there, feeling confused, yet slightly proud that he had caused so much panic.

"Tororo…Do you know why you're here?" A keronian finally asked, seating herself in front of him.

"Yes, I hacked into the military and took all of you down. Pu, pu, pu. I am awesome." Tororo gave her a weak smile of egotisticalness.

"Yes. Yes, you did. Usually the military would give you a lifelong sentence for something so grave, but my commanders have been talking it over and have decided a different punishment." The purple keronian smiled in front of him. "Your abilities are promising. You have been accepted into the military as punishment. You're now serving your time in service." The keronian explained.

"I'm being drafted? And I get a job? What about school and Kukiki?" Tororo asked.

"That woman is not your legal guardian and you are not permitted to stay with her. The military now owns you. Your talents also give you a job having no more need for school." The keronian reached out a hand to him.

"Welcome aboard buck private, Tororo."

* * *

"And that's why I'm in the military and not at school." Tororo explained. "My story also proves that I use the internet more productively than you do."

"I'm sorry about all that….I didn't know." I shook my head sadly.

"So what's your reason for not going to school and playing on your computer instead?" Tororo asked.

"Nothing nearly as glamorous. I had one too many absences from sickness and due to being too sick I can't physically go to school. So stuff happened and I had to stop." I explained.

"That kind of sucks too. Pu, pu, pu." Tororo sympathized.

"Want a hug?" I asked, trying to make everything better.

"No way! Get away from me!" He pushed me off, going back to his computer. After a moment of silence, he turned and spoke, "I'm not feeling too well from that story, so break time from war against the old man. I'm going to surf the net instead."

He turned his back toward me and started typing away on his computer.

The internet was an escape for him to just like it is for me.

The on-line world was truthfully nicer and easier to deal with than the truths of the real world.

Lies are so much prettier than ugly truths.


	25. Failure

**DAY TWENTY-THREE, WORD TWENTY-THREE: FAILURE**

_**As Told by STELLA**_

* * *

My phone buzzed beside me and the screen lit up brightly, distracting me from the drawing I was almost done with. It was an image of everyone who was in the simulation, and I planned on printing it out and making copies to give everyone as a special gift. I picked up the phone and a little icon popped up, telling me I have received a message. A message from a guy who confessed his crush on me a while ago. His name made me smile and I opened up the message.

Earlier I sent him a greeting because I got bored and was hoping to find someone to talk to. That was about two hours ago. I read the message and felt my smile slip away.

"Oh..." Zoruru looked up from the book I lent him and gave me quizzical look. I didn't bother answering his questioning look, but stared at the stabbing letters.

"_Stop texting me, you weirdo."_I took a deep breath and just sent a question mark. Don't tell me he's another one. Another guy who'd claim he likes me, but after he gets to know me, he runs away. Usually the guys would ignore me and we'd stop talking, but this guy just outright told me to stop talking to him. Well that's better than nothing, I guess. Another message arrived and I tentatively opened up the text.

"_You like anime. You gush over people who don't even exist. You're a failure. I don't even know why I even thought I liked you. You're just some dumb loser. Now stop being a creep and stop texting me."_

Ouch.

I bit my lip to keep the tears from coming.

So he is another one, only except that this one's blunt and is actually disgusted by nerds like me and thinks that I'm a creep.

"_It's okay, Stella,"_I thought to myself, _"You have gone through worse, he's just some other tool who only wants... well, you know, someone with no self-respect."_This didn't make me feel better.

"What's wrong with you, hippie?"

"What? You're concerned for me? That's out of character for you," I muttered coldly.

"You won't tell me? That's fine." Zoruru turned and began to walk away. I immediately felt bad.

""No, wait! I need someone to talk to!" I grabbed him and held him in a crushing hug.

"Let go of me! How in the world have I not killed you yet...?"

"I use a space heater on you. Anyways, my mood just changed and I'm trying to deal with it..."

"What in the world made your moods change? You're usually one mood, and the mood is annoying."

"Annoying is not a mood, Zoruru. And it was this guy who said he liked me but he doesn't anymore, mainly because I love anime." He gave me an incredulous look.

"And you're sad because if that? What a pathetic thing to be sad about."

"Well he called me a failure, a dumb loser, and a creep." No one's ever called me that. This is the first time anyone has ever given me negative names other than my siblings' playful ones. But my siblings never mean any of them, they're too respectful to actually mean them... This guy meant them." The tears came back to the surface and I sighed heavily as I wiped them away. "Great, here come the waterworks." Then to myself I mutter, "C'mon, Stella, you've been through worse..."

"What exactly was worse?" His curiosity is kind of out of character and it concerned me a bit.

"Well, my first relationship was not the best. The guy I dated liked other girls and I was too stupid to leave... Until he began to like the girl who had problems with me for some reason, so I just ended it. I was done with being hurt by him. I should be done with being hurt by anyone. Unfortunately, I ended up hurting myself because I compared myself to those other girls and all of the flaws I have stood out to me like a nose on a face. I learned from that experience not to do that because it drastically lowers your self-esteem... but I'm still just a silly little school girl who dreams of pointless romance and is self conscious about herself."

"You listen to too many sad songs."

"You're right, I do. And I daydream too much too while listening to those songs," I let go of Zoruru, who zoomed away from my arms and hid above my book case. I looked down at some object on the floor and sighed deeply.

A lyrics from different songs came rolling into my mind.

"_I don't want to think about you, or think about me. Don't want to figure this out. I don't want to think about you, think about nothing, I don't want to talk this one out. I won't let you bring me down because I know. I don't want to think about you." _Darn it, Simple Plan!

"Maybe I am a failure..."

"You realize this now?" I glared at him. His insults weren't making me feel better.

"Who would like a girl who likes anime, plays Kingdom Hearts, and goes crazy for non-existent people?" I grabbed my Kiba Inuzuka plushie, held him tightly and flopped down on my bed. "I'm just a loser." I glanced at Zoruru. He was off the bookcase and was looking at my drawing books. He had one open that was full of drawings that I've made while under the influence of my imagination and music combined.

"Well, I guess you do have _some_talents." Did I just receive a compliment from sir Ice Cube? I sat up as he set the book beside me and flipped through the pages.

Detailed, simplistic; colored, black and white; sketched, complete drawings. This book is what I am proud of. This book is me.

Zoruru stopped at one drawing where it was two characters from Hetalia holding up two different signs, one with "We" printed on an American flag poster board the other with "Believe" on a British flag poster board. He flipped through more. Ninjas, Pirates, wolves, people with animal features like ears and tails.

I get many compliments. People oggle over these drawings. People always ask if they can go through this book. I receive sketchbooks as gifts from those closest to me because of this talent.

I may be a loser but I have talent.

My talent may be drawing nerdy things, but it's what I like, what I have been doing for many years, and I will not give up on that.

No silly boy will let me down because my entire _life_is anime. My entire life is these wonderful stories with excellent accompanying illustrations that add more life to the stories.

I smiled and felt my sadness slip away.

"Who needs a boyfriend when I've got my talent." I took the book from his hands and gazed at a page where a girl was sad, but she was running, looking up, and with one hand, was reaching up to the stars. In cursive it said, _"Don't be afraid to reach for the stars."_I closed the book and held it in my arms tightly. This is my hope for the future. Not some silly guy who only wants a pretty face and not an awesome soul. "Heh, I'm pretty awesome. Any boy who fails to see that is stupid. Except Johnny."

"I don't know, he's pretty stu-" I smacked Zoruru on the top of his head with the book before he could finish his sentence. I was not in the mood for people, or frogs, to begin insulting my friends. I'm never in the mood for that.

"You keep your mouth shut about Johnny. He's a great friend and he definitely does not deserve to be called stupid," I pouted angrily. Honestly, Johnny should be respected. "Yes, he's a bit clumsy, he's extremely shy, he apologizes a lot, but so what? He's caring, he's sweet, and he's humble. He's great to be around! I may be the only one with that opinion, but so what? I'll stand with my opinion to the end." Zoruru stared at me as if I was crazy, I just glared back.

"Whatever." He turned and continued to look through my books. My glare eased and I looked at my phone. The message was still displayed, and a pinch of anger hit me, but I shook it off and proceeded to delete the guy's number. I forwarded the message to one of my best friends, Penelope, so she can have a nice chat with him. She also hates it when people insult her friends. She sent back an explicit reply and I laughed. She's one of the many people that I need in my life, which includes my family, some more friends, including Johnny. Though I've only known him for a few years, he's just plain wonderful. Then suddenly it hit me.

"I think Johnny grew," He's still shorter than me, but he seems... less short than before. "He used to come up to my shoulder now he's a bit taller."

"He still looks short to me." I threw a plushie at him, and it bounced off of his head, making a little squeaking noise. I stared at the plush in confusion. Why did it squeak? I disregarded it and sat back down at my drawing tablet and laptop.

"This drawing will be awesome," I grabbed my pen and continued to color in the drawing.

After thirty minutes, the drawing was complete. All of us with our partners in the simulation. Johnny, Garuru, Kitty, Tororo, Rita, Taruru, Ruby, Pururu, Zoruru, and I bunched together in an offensive stance (and Johnny looking a bit apprehensive), getting ready to fight when needed. I gazed at everyone individually, they all look marvelous. A sudden thought struck my mind when I looked at Zoruru's drawing.

"Hey Zoruru. Have you always been a vengeful assassin all your life?" I asked, turning to Zoruru.

"No." I gave him an incredulous look.

"What?"

"You heard me." He walked up to my bed and sat on it. "I was shy as a tadpole."

Paradigm shift. Suddenly my world is more upside down than before.

"I hardly ever had friends in school. I usually sat alone, and everyone forgot about me."

Aw, the poor thing!

"Aw! You poor thing!" I reached out to hug him but he jumped away. "You must have felt really lonely..." He crossed his arms and "humph'd"

"Why should you care?"

I tilted my head a bit and smiled. "I always care. Whether it be a close friend or a complete stranger, I always care."

"You really are a peace and love kind of girl, huh?" Smiling I held up a peace sign and nodded. "Hippie." He sat on my desk. "I have never been half frog half metal. I was once a full frog. And when I was a full frog, people forgot about me... like my first day of school, I was alone... suddenly it looked like someone was interested in being my friend, but instead he went to be someone else's friend and I stayed alone. That darn Zeroro. I swear I will get my revenge on him soon." Here it comes again. I just sighed and let it be. You can't argue with someone who has a set goal. I've learned from the experience where my friend Molly will spoil me senseless even though I tell her no. "The next time I see him, it will be the end of him."

This reminded me of a few things.

1.) Zoruru reminded me of Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto. (I WILL GET MY REVENGE)

2.) _AND I'M JAVERT! DO NOT FORGET MY NAME. DO NOT FORGET ME._

"Say, if you do get your revenge, what will you do afterwards?" Zoruru never thought of that, so it's seems. He just stayed silent in a thoughtful reverie. "Are you going to celebrate? With, you know, party streamers and music? Or are you too much of a Javert to celebrate?"

"What? Javert?"

I laughed.

"Sorry, Javert is a character from a musical. He wanted to capture someone and spent his entire life going after him. When the man he was going after let him live, Javert jumped off a bridge because he didn't know what else to do with his life anymore. I'm a just a little bit concerned you might turn out like him." Zoruru just stared at me. "Good musical by the way. Rather sad. Hence _Les Miserables_'The Miserable.'" I saved the drawing and copied it to my flash drive. "It's a nice day today, not too hot. I'm going to make copies of the drawing at Staples. Would you like to come?" Zoruru nodded and left my room to pack some water bottles.


	26. Rebirth

**DAY TWENTY-FOUR, WORD TWENTY-FOUR: REBIRTH  
**

* * *

"Johnny! What… what..?!"

"It was an April Fool's day joke, mom," I said with a weak grin.

She simply stared at me, her mouth grim. "Who did it?"

"It was, ah… it was a friend…"

"I'm going to call your school-"

"_Mom_. He doesn't go to my school. He, uh… lives in the neighborhood."

Mom looked really aggravated, like she wanted to wring the poor soul's neck- and that she would, if it were legal. "Who is he?"

"You wouldn't know him," I said, shutting the door as I nervously walked to the side. "Um… if you don't mind, I'm going to, um… take a shower…"

Mom shook her head. "He better not do that again."

"He won't." _I'll be sure he won't. _"Bleh." I wiped my face with the back of my wrist, no doubt only smearing more of the pale blue paint across my cheek. I hope I don't drip; my dad just cleaned the carpet, and I know he would go _berserk _if I dare stain it.

I shoved my door open. It sprang back and hit the wall behind it, making it almost sound like a slam. _"Lieutenant._"

Garuru was handling his guns again, dissolving them the moment I came in. He turned his head casually to me. "Yes?"

"_I know it was you_."

"…Hm…"

I was covered with splatters of paint. I have _no idea how, _but the second I entered my street I was bombarded with paintballs, something splashing colors all over my hair, my clothes, my skin, and my face. I looked like a free spirited artist's bedroom wall that was chosen of all walls on a boring Saturday afternoon to be given a random and unregimented makeover, minus the whole wall thing- and that's just to give you something of a description. I didn't even want to look at myself. All I was aware of was the fact that part of my face was blue, my bangs were pink, my neck was yellow, my shirt resembled something worthy of an Opium dream, my pants looked like it was caught in a food fight, and my sneakers… were magically delicious. Ugh.

Garuru examined me, marveling at the work that I frogging _know _he did.

"April Fools," he said finally, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. His eyes gleamed with amusement as my face reddened with disbelief.

"_Lieutenant_!"

"I think it would be best if you went and took a shower now," Garuru said, bringing his hand up to conceal the slightly wider grin that was stretching against his mouth.

I gave him a sour glare and snatched the towel hanging from my door, turning heel to the bathroom that was just a few steps away.

* * *

"Okay, how did you do it."

"What is the Pekoponian phrase?" Garuru mused, gazing over a sniper rifle he had just put together. "Oh, yes. 'A rabbit never reveals his carrots'."

This I was unable to keep back a wry laugh. "Funny_, _Lieutenant. It's 'a magician never reveals his secrets.'" I gave him a look when I realized he was being absolutely serious. "Wait. Where did you come up with _that?_"

"New Recruit," Garuru replied simply, unfazed by the strange play of words he had just uttered. He paused briefly; "…Perhaps I shouldn't take the commonplace Pekoponian metaphors from his mouth."

"Not 'perhaps'," I said with a small shake of my head. "You just shouldn't. I… _really _don't know where he gets them from…"

Although I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Rita or Kitty had taught him to say those words just to make him spout random things that made no sense at all.

I pulled the towel over my head and ruffled it against my hair, scattering droplets of water everywhere.

"Do men typically have hair as long as yours?" Garuru asked flatly.

"Um… I don't know," I shrugged. "My dad's looks like this. And he likes it like that. Though, thinking about it, I guess most guys tend to keep it shorter…"

"Does your father look like you?" Garuru asked, probably out of curiosity.

"Um… no. My sister does, if… that doesn't sound strange at all…" I chewed on my lower lip in thought. "Hm… I actually look a lot like my mom."

Garuru winced at this, and I mentally slapped myself. Whatever I said connected something of a distant memory that he had wanted to keep long buried… most likely his own mother…

…Does he look like his mom?

"Lieutenant?" I said quietly, interrupting his dazed expression.

"Yes, Cadet?"

"…Remember when we were playing that simulation?" I asked, grinning weakly when he frowned at my question. "Wait. Hear me out. When we rescued Pururu, I noticed that she looked… normal. U-uh, I mean, in, y-you know, human standards. Look, what I'm trying to say is that she looked like a _human._ Was that all Kururu's doing, or…?"

"Keronians have invented a sort of disguise to maneuver around Pekopon without much hassle," Garuru explained smoothly. "Most models are proven ineffective, as they only change the body, and not the head."

"…W…_What?"_ _That _is a weird thought. A big color-of-the-rainbow frog head walking around in the body of a human? Who wouldn't notice that?

"Well, now, come to think of it…" Garuru murmured. "Actually… thinking about it now, the Keroro Platoon has been quite successful with those Pekoponian suits… they haven't had much trouble now, I suppose…"

Weak disguises, clueless people, aliens wanting to take over the earth but clearly failing at their job?

…Why am I getting a sudden _Invader Zim _vibe…?

"But… Pururu's disguise looked so real," I said, reliving the memory of a young girl's pretty face, delicate looking porcelain skin, long, soft pink hair…

…

_Cough._

I'm going to uh, stop… now.

"A-Class Platoons are given more advanced and realistic Pekoponian suits," Garuru clarified, gesturing toward the insignia on his hat. "The Chief Medic enjoys that form and uses it often, for some strange reason. I suppose it's because it gives her more of an opportunity to interact with Pekoponians as she observes them." He continued when he saw my puzzled expression, "She's fascinated with your culture. Something about you Pekoponians pique her interest."

"So, wait…" I blinked at him, my bent knuckle against my mouth. "…A-Class Platoons are given the Pekoponian suits, and that's why Pururu has one?"

"I believe that's what I just said," Garuru said, perking a brow.

"…Do you have one?"

"We all do. But I don't feel comfortable in that form."

"Why not?" I draped the towel over my shoulders. "Do you think you look ugly or something?"

"No," Garuru folded his arms. "Think about this, Cadet; imagine having to undergo a complete transformation into a species that you are not very familiar with. Imagine having to turn into a Keronian." He saw me cringe. "Precisely. That's how I personally feel with using the Pekoponian suit. However, if the time comes where I will indeed need it, then I will use it."

"Like when your invisible thingy doesn't work anymore?" I prompted, pointing at his wolf symbol.

"Yes, though the likely hood of that is slim to none," Garuru assured me.

Darn. I've been hoping that he would have to; what can I say? Curiosity killed the leprechaun.

…Glory, I'm beginning to sound like Tororo.

Garuru's little device beeped from the direction of his bed; he walked over to it and kneeled down, running his hand through the cloth of the sleeping bag. He found his device, still beeping, but seemed to be looking for something else. His face contorted to one of confusion as he flattened the rest of his bed.

_Squeak._

Garuru started, and he turned to me wielding the little rubber duck.  
_  
Squeak. _"Looking for this?"

Garuru scowled at me. "No."

"Then what were you looking for?"

"…The device," Garuru responded slowly. Before I could say anything else on the matter, he stood up and answered the call. "Lieutenant Garuru. Who is speaking?"

"Pu-pu-pu! New Recruit Tororo," came the other voice on the line.

"What is the message?"

"The old man sent us another SimCube."

"Already?" I muttered.

"The sergeant major can create things easily in a small amount of time," Garuru explained coolly. "I'm honestly not surprised."

"Yeah, well," Tororo interrupted briskly, no doubt irritated at the fact that we were praising the work of his rival, "I got it _now. _And since it isn't too late, we should probably try to finish it as soon as we can, right?"

Garuru sighed. "You have a point, New Recruit. Tell the others to meet at the park. Cadet and I will be there soon." He hung up.

"It still looks humid," I noted. "We don't have to wet all of you like we normally do."

"Good."

"Do you want to grab something to eat before we go?" I inquired, putting my hands in my pockets. "To, you know, mentally prepare ourselves before we plunge into another most likely humiliating role playing game?"

The Lieutenant gave me a side glance before he turned to my door. "Very well." I followed him out to my hallway into the stairs. "What do you have in mind?"

"We got Asian cuisine last night," I said thoughtfully. "You might like that, right?"

"… Asian cuisine?"

"Like, sweet and sour chicken, noodles, rice…"

* * *

"…You're really not good at that, are you-"

"_Familiarity, Cadet._"

I grinned at Garuru, who was having the most obvious difficulty grabbing the meat with the chopsticks I had given him. "If it makes you feel better, I have trouble using them also."

Garuru said nothing to this. Five minutes ticked by, and he finally conceded defeat by stabbing all the meat with the chopsticks in a rapid motion and cramming it all into his mouth.

I had to leave the room for fear he would shoot me for laughing too hard.

"You done, Lieutenant?" I asked after a while, coming back inside the kitchen with what I desperately hoped was a calmer façade.

Garuru put the used chopsticks on the plate and jumped off the chair. "Yes. Let's go."

* * *

"I wonder what game this one will be," Stella said excitedly, trying not to jump up and down.

Zoruru rolled his eye. "_Please. _If anything, I just hope it's quick and to the point."

"Agreed," Garuru said with a nod. "I don't want to be spending most of my time there."

"I hope I don't get separated from Pururu again," Ruby said as she folded her arms. "Or at least get to play more of the game instead of being stuck on the last level."

"I wanna press it!" Taruru said, waving an arm in the air.

Rita and Tororo exchanged mild looks of annoyance, and Kitty shook her head with a smile.

"Go ahead," Garuru said, gesturing toward the device.

"Be careful," Pururu murmured, biting her lower lip at the light blue frog.

Taruru hopped over it, all of us walking closer to the range were supposed to within the box. He gazed up at all of us before pressing his finger down on the button.

We were enveloped in a bright white flash…

…But we were still exactly in the same place as we were before.

"_Ku-ku-ku-ku! _April Fools~"

I jumped, nearly stumbling on my rear. "_H-hey_! Is this going to be a habit with you?!"

The floating device Kururu had used on the last game was hovering in front of us, a wide smirk against his features. "Ku-ku-ku. Just wanted to wish you Americans with a happy April Fools."

"Oh yeah… it's today, isn't it?" Kitty asked Rita.

"Actually, it was almost a week ago," Rita told her. "But since we're in a fan fiction and anything could happen, and not to mention it's relevant to the plot, it's going to be today."

...I decided to ignore that.

Ruby looked up at the sky. "Did anyone else hear the sound of shattered glass?"

"But I don't understand what's the joke," Stella said with a small frown in response to Kururu's claim.

Kururu's smile grew wider (and, in my perspective, creepier). "Look down."

The five of us did.

The Garuru Platoon looked much smaller, all with tadpole tails, white faces, and slightly bigger eyes. They were looking about curiously, and, to some, slightly frightened.

"Where are we?" Pururu inquired, her voice more high-pitched than it was moments prior.

"You turned them into _kids?!_" I asked, horrified.

"Ku-ku! Only for an hour," Kururu leaned forward as he propped his elbows against the desk. "They have lost all their memory from being in the platoon, but retained the same exact memory they had at that age. Meaning-"

"They don't know us," Ruby finished, worried.

"Exactly!" Kururu replied gleefully. "Have fun babysitting, Americans! Sayonara~"

Before we could ask any further questions, the device shut off.

The Lieutenant has a white face, and… he had no visor. Huh. I never even considered what his eyes would look like… They were slanted, the irises a dark crimson. Zoruru was beside him, looking the most scared of all of them. He actually looked normal, with no robotic parts outlining the right side of his body. He had two eyes, too, and although they had kept that strange red iris, his retinas were a normal colored white, his mouth was uncovered. Taruru had a white face, his freckles much more evident on the light-colored skin, and his eyes were slightly wider, much more eager and excitable than his grown-up counterpart. Pururu looked the same, except much smaller, and her hat was flat in comparison to the cat-ear protrusions she had when she was an adult.

Tororo was sitting down, looking the youngest of all, wearing a diaper and sucking on a pacifier, his hat covering half of his face due to the fact it was so big. As he looked about at us, his eyes watered at the strange and unfamiliar place and faces. He began to cry. "_Pu-pu-pu-pu…_"

"Oh!" Kitty scooped him up in her arms. "It's okay, it's okay…" That didn't help at all. He flailed his arms in the air, screaming at the stranger that was currently trying to cuddle him.

"I-I have to get out of here!" Zoruru cried out, running off. "_Mommy!_"

"Zoru!" Stella ran after him. "_Get over here!_"

A rock _plunked _against Rita's head. "_Ow!_ Hey!"

"Nananana!" Taruru lagged his tongue out, his hands up to his ears as he waggled his fingers. "_You can't catch me!_" He let out a hearty laugh as he turned tail, Rita having no choice but to follow after him.

"_Get back over here, Taruru!_"

Ruby was having similar difficulties. "Pururu... come here-"

"_No! _Stranger danger!" Pururu said, pointing at her accusingly. "You're trying to _steal _me!"

Geez, it was utter chaos.

…Wait a second.

…Garuru… was nothing like how he is now.

"Who are you?!"

I jumped, turning to the Lieutenant. His eyes gleamed dangerously, his body bent in a defensive position, his fingers curled in and his legs prepared to run if the need arises.

…Oh boy.

"I-I'm Johnny Cadet," I stammered.

"That's a weird name," Garuru growled. His eyes flickered around the area. "Where's my parents?"

"T-they're at… um… th-they're at work," I said, biting my lower lip. _Think, Johnny. _What did Garuru say when he told you stories about his childhood…? "I-I'm your… I-I'm your babysitter."

"You lie," Garuru told me, eyes narrowing. "_Get away from me!_ Dad told me strangers do bad things to kids!" He turned around and dashed off at a speed I didn't know was possible. I groaned and ran after him, knowing full well that kids have more energy than people like me. Still, I'm much older, I have longer legs and I'm pretty fast myself. I could still catch him if I don't lose him.

Garuru turned a corner, and I cursed. _Think Johnny! What does he-… _A thought crossed my mind, but I swatted it away. I didn't want to use that; I knew how bad it was. It might not even _work _anyway, and if the Lieutenant happened to remember everything that had happened…

Find something else.

Oh!

"G-Garuru!" I cried out. "Don't leave! Giroro might get scared!"

The purple Keronian slowed down and turned to me, eyes wide. "Giroro?"

"Yeah," I said, feeling the air pressing against my lungs as I stopped. "I'm not a stranger. I know Giroro. And I know your dad."

Garuru blinked at me blankly, before he furrowed his brows seriously. "What's dad's name?"

I opened my mouth slightly, feeling it dry up. _Crap. _He never told me what his name was, did he?

"You're still lying," Garuru said at my lack of response, glowering. "I don't believe you!" He turned again to start off running… to the busy street down the road.

Holey crap…

"Garuru! _If you don't come over here this instant I'm going to tell your mom!_"

Garuru immediately skidded to a stop and swerved to look at me, pupils dilating with fear. "NO! No, no, no! I'll be good, I'll be good! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He ran back over to me, shaking, his eyes beginning to water. "Don't tell mom. I'm sorry, I'll be good, j-just don't tell my mom, please!"

I shivered, not liking what sort of implications he meant when I had threatened him with his own mother. But at least he was here now, and not anywhere near the streets where he could get run over. I sat down and reached my arms out, like I would normally to the little kids I would baby-sit. "It's alright. Come here. I won't tell your mom… but you have to be good, okay?"

Garuru nodded timidly, walking a little closer. "Okay… I'm sorry…"

"It's fine." I stood up and gave him my hand. "C'mon. We're going to introduce you to some new friends, okay?"

"…Okay."

* * *

Taruru was dangling upside down in Rita's arms, laughing hysterically.

"I feel bad for whoever had to take care of him growing up," Rita said with a small sigh.

"He's hyper," I smiled. "I think we all were at that age."

"Sh," Kitty murmured, holding Tororo's head against her shoulder. "He's asleep."

Pururu was off to the side with Ruby, dancing at whatever music the teenage girl was playing for her. Zoruru and Stella were nowhere to be found.

"Taruru, _sh_," I said to the light blue tadpole, putting a finger to my lips.

He giggled and did the similar motion, though '_shh_'ing louder.

"If I put you down, will you be quiet?" Rita asked him softly.

"Mmmmaaaaybe…."

Rita grunted a little at this. "I'm taking a risk, okay? Don't let me down now."

"But I thought _you _were letting me down?"

Rita's lips wiggled at the little joke he made, but tried to keep her face hard to show she was being absolutely serious. "Okay.. I'm putting you down now." She gently set him on the ground, and was absolutely relieved when he stayed put, turning to face her.

"Hey," he said eagerly, smiling widely. "Are you going to be my new mom?"

"…Huh?" Rita perked a brow. "What?"

"Are you going to adopt me? Huh? Aren't I fun?" His eyes never left hers, glimmering with hope. "Aren't I fun? Don't you want to adopt me?"

Rita was silent, awestruck at what he was telling her. She looked like she was on the verge of teasing him at first, but the sheer force of the look of sweet sincerity and longing on his face was enough to make her face soften slightly. She sighed again, probably reminding herself that this was a slightly different Taruru than the one she could easily joke around with.

"Alright," Rita said finally, looking stern. "I'm going to adopt you-"

"Yes!" Taruru cried out joyfully, jumping up and down. "Yes, yes, yes! I got a new mommy!"

"Wait," Rita said, somewhat softly, "But you have to be _good, _okay?"

"Yes, yes, yes! I promise!" Taruru saluted, the same way he would usually to Garuru or any of his other superiors. "I'll be in my absolute _best _behavior!"

"Good," Rita folded her arms.

"I found him," Stella said, holding the small and delicate-looking Zoruru in her arms, who was shyly nibbling on something in his hands. "I had to bribe him with a cookie, but it's all good now." She made a small smirk and she shook her head slightly. "Wow. He really wasn't kidding when he said he was shy when he was little."

"I could tell you guys are all pretty good with babysitting," I said with a small, embarrassed smile. I can almost guarantee that none of them had to blackmail their Keronian partner. My face felt warm with shame.

"So he said they were stuck like this for an hour," Kitty whispered, rubbing Tororo's back.

"Right," I nodded. "And… how long has it been?"

"About fifteen minutes," Stella said loudly. Her eyes widened when she saw the sleeping tadpole in Kitty's arms and she immediately blushed, mouthing a '_sorry_' and turning back to me. She lowered her voice, "So we have forty-five minutes to spare… what should we do?"

"Entertain them?" I replied, more in question than answer. "I don't know, let's just… keep them from getting restless. They're all pretty little, so we might be able to get them to take a nap if we manage to get them tired."

"Rita, can you go get me a blanket?" Kitty asked her sister.

"Sure," Rita said, glancing at me. "Johnny? Can you take care of T-?"

"I wanna go too!" Taruru beamed, grabbing hold of Rita's hand. "Please? Can I go?"

"Sh!"

"Sorry."

Rita looked at me, and then gazed back down at the little tadpole. "…Fine. But you have to be quiet, alright?"

Taruru nodded, imitating a zipping motion against his lips. He then reached for her hand and held onto it tightly, as if he was afraid of letting her go. "Let's go." He dragged her in a different direction, and even Rita couldn't help but make a little giggle.

"Wrong way, Taruru."

"Do you wanna dance with me?" Pururu asked Zoruru, who was put down by Stella.

Zoruru blinked self-consciously at her before he pointed at himself. "M-_me?_"

Pururu nodded, placing her hands on her hips. "Who else would I be talking to?"

Zoruru twisted around and looked up at Stella. She waved her arms toward Pururu encouragingly. "Go ahead."

As if he adored the feeling of being recognized for what I felt was the first time, he let Pururu take his hand and pull him toward the small music MP3 player that was playing on the speakers Ruby was tinkering around with.

Garuru stood awkwardly by me, his hands behind his back.

"Do you… want to go play with them?" I asked him.

Garuru shook his head.

"…Okay…" I sat down next to him, and he took a step back. Huh. He must probably still be a bit wary of me despite the fact that I knew he was afraid of his mom. "I'm sorry. C'mere."

Garuru glanced at the others before taking one tiny step toward me.

"Good." I smiled warmly. "I'm going to teach you a game; it's really easy. Do you want to play?"

Garuru shrugged a shoulder.

"It's called toads and fishes," I explained, holding up my hand. "See?" I wagged my index finger. "This is a fish-"

The purple tadpole's eyes widened. He quickly looked at his own hand, and then at mine. "You have tall fingers."

"Really?" Well, that's a first. Then again, his own were actually a lot smaller than mine… I chuckled. "Here's the game, Garuru. This is a fish. You have to try to _get _the fish, okay? But this…" I closed my finger in and pulled up a thumb. "This is a toad. You can't catch the toad, okay? If you catch the fish, you win. You got that?" Garuru blinked in puzzlement but nodded anyway. "Good. Here." I pulled up my finger. The small Lieutenant stared uncertainly at it. "Go ahead. Try to grab it." He slowly reached for it, but then jumped back when I quickly switched it to my thumb.

"Oh," he said in realization.

I laughed. "Right." I switched it back to my finger. "Try and get the fish."

Garuru's hand shot toward mine, but I quickly switched it back to my thumb. He caught my fatter finger instead.

"Nope."

Garuru lunged.

"Nuh-uh. Try again."

Garuru grinned slightly, his tongue sticking out slightly from his lips. After waiting patiently for a few seconds, he reached toward my finger.

"Nope!"

"Hold still!" Garuru giggled, grabbing at my wrist.

"You little cheater!" I burst out laughing when he managed to wrench the finger out of my closed fist.

"I win!" Garuru said cheerfully.

"Hi!"

Garuru turned and saw Pururu, who was hopping slightly on her heels. "Wanna dance with us?"

"…Um…" Garuru blinked at Pururu, and then shook his head. "No thanks."

"Oh," Pururu's face dropped with disappointment. "Okay." She padded over to Stella. "Do you have a Band-Aid?"

"A… Band-Aid?" Stella made a funny face. "What happened?"

"Zoruru fell into that bush of thorns."

Stella made something of a shriek that sounded like a cross between a mouse and a goat.

…Yes, imagine that now.

She ran over to the bush that Pururu was pointing at, and winced at the sorry sight of the scratched up Zoruru, his arms and legs still as they stuck out of the bush.

"Poor Zoruru," Pururu said sympathetically, frowning at the gray scratched up tadpole.

"I sometimes keep one or two with me," Stella said quietly as she tended some of the larger wounds. "Here."

"I usually have some too," Pururu said regrettably, "But I think I left them all at home…"

"I don't have one to put there," Stella said when Zoruru pointed at his face, where a long thin line ran across his cheek.

"Here!" Pururu kissed his cheek, and he blushed heavily, blinking at her in surprise. "That's because I don't have any Band-Aids. I'm sorry."

"…It's okay," Zoruru said in a meek voice, touching his scratch.

I turned to Garuru, who was sitting down, playing with the long pieces of dry grass on the ground. I gazed up at the sky, and took a deep breath. Against my better judgment, I asked, "Garuru, do you love your mom?"

"Yes," Garuru said bluntly, curling the grass with his fingers. "Of course I do. She loves me too."

"Then… why were you scared of-"

"_I wasn't scared_," Garuru snapped suddenly, turning to me sharply. He hopped to his feet and resumed another defensive position. "I _wasn't _scared of her. She's a good mom! She's just really scary when I'm being a bad boy! But I'm a good boy now and she told me she would never do it again!"

"…Okay," I said soothingly, trying to calm him down. I don't want to be the cause if Tororo happened to wake up… "Okay… just calm down…"

Garuru gave me a bitter glare but he relaxed his body, sitting back down to continue playing with the grass. For several moments, I just stared at him.

I didn't even finish my sentence… how did he know that I was going to say it was his mom?

…"_She told me she would never do it again_"….

….What the heck did she do to him?

Garuru suddenly froze. He stared at his leg and shivered, his eyes suddenly looking moist again.

"M-Mister Cadet?"

"…Yeah?"

"C… Can you please get that thing off me?"

I turned my attention to his knee, where an ant had been crawling on it. I quickly and gently brushed my hand against it, flicking it away.

Garuru sighed, his face softening with relief.

"…You don't like bugs?" I asked him.

"No. I don't." His face took on a very solemn expression, and he stared at the blades of grass in his hands for a long time. "…I don't."

"…Garuru…"

"Can we play that game again?"

"O-oh. Sure."

* * *

Garuru shot the SimCube several times, making sure that the only thing left of it were the white ashes that could be swept away in the wind.

It was amazing how he could be so angry yet look so calm at the same time.

Tororo said something about spamming his inbox with 'atrocious fan fiction', with Kitty grinning at this and occasionally reminding him of how adorable he was as a little kid. He would simply glare at her and wave his hand dismissively, irritated like the rest of the platoon of the humiliation they all had to endure.

None of the Garuru Platoon members actually even remembered what had happened during their random moment as a kid. Pururu didn't remember dancing, Zoruru didn't remember falling into a bush (though he still kept the scratches and Band-Aids on his body; he had wondered what happened), Taruru didn't remember proclaiming Rita as his mom, Tororo didn't remember the diapers and Garuru didn't remember my blackmailing him with his mother.

…I'm glad. I don't think he would have ever forgiven me.

"And that _better _not happen again," Garuru scowled, barely able to contain the rage that he had felt as he glared at Kururu through Tororo's computer screen.

Kururu simply shrugged. "Ku-ku~! Don't blame me for wanting to have a little fun~ I've been working on your simulations for _days _now; it didn't hurt for me to have a little break and get a good laugh in the meanwhile. And by the way~" He grinned at the five platoon members. "May I mention how _adorable _you all were? _Ku-ku-ku-ku-ku!_"

Pururu blushed, taking a small step away, and Tororo nearly tossed a rock at the screen, stopping only midway when he realized that it was _his _computer. Zoruru just looked aggravated; he _hmphed _and _zipped _away, Stella making an off-handed remark that he was probably heading to her own house.

Taruru didn't really seem to care. "I must've been a handful," he told Rita, grinning widely.

"You were," Rita said, somewhat exhausted. "And I _know _what a handful is."

"Ku-ku-ku! Well, time's a-wastin'," Kururu twirled his finger in the air before he pointed it down to a random button. "Talk to you later~ Clicky!"

"Wait-!"

The screen went black.

We all rolled our eyes.

"Well, not that that wasn't fun and all," Rita said suddenly, stretching an arm up in the air, "But I think I want to go home now. I'm tired."

"Yeah, me too," I said weakly. I haven't taken a nap yet, and… _hey! _Don't laugh at me! I wake up at _five in the morning daily, _you know. And I only need about an hour's worth of rest anyway…

"Cadet."

I glanced tiredly to Garuru. "Yeah, Lieutenant?"

The purple Keronian looked a bit embarrassed, but was able to easily mask it with his typical passive and cool demeanor. "…I didn't… cause too much trouble for you, did I?"

I smiled at him, tucking my hand in my pocket. "Nah. You were a good kid, Lieutenant. I wouldn't have minded babysitting you everyday."

Garuru gazed at me amusedly. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. Though I would probably stop at your teen years… now _that's _when you're scary."

He grinned slightly. "Hm. I'll keep that in mind, then."

"Also, you didn't have to worry about causing me trouble."

"And why is that?"

"In your defense, you were actually pretty cute."

"Familiarity_, _Cadet."

I blinked at him, my smile easing into something closer to a frown, before turning back to the direction of my house. "...Right. Sorry."

He gazed at me quizzically, but said nothing.

* * *

I fell flat against my bed and burrowed my face against my pillow, suffocating myself before realizing that I probably needed to breathe.

"That wasn't a good idea," Garuru noted, tilting his head to the side when I pushed myself off the mattress as I gasped for air.

"I'll take that… advice," I panted.

"Shall we exchange experiences for today?"

"Sure." I sat up straight, bending me knees inward. "Mm, let's see… when I was little, my mom would take me to the store to buy me clothes. Know that I was really little, though, like maybe two or three. The store had these racks that were circular shaped, with the clothes all hanging by hangers against it. What I would _love _to do was hide under all the clothes, away from my mom. Once, I stayed hidden despite the fact that my mom called out for me. She looked under all the clothes, and I would switch to different racks to keep her from finding me. Since I would actually go back to the same rack she had already looked in, and she looked under all of them, she began to freak out. Eventually she began running to all the employees, thinking that someone had stolen me. They were about to call the police when they heard someone laughing- it was me. Mom found me and I'm sure she hit me for scaring the shoe out of her, but eh, that was years ago." I chuckled at the memory.

Garuru perked a brow at me. "And you said that I acted differently."

"Oh, yeah. I was weird, and I was proud to be weird," I said with a nod. "I didn't care what people thought of me. And then something happened in between, and I dunno." I shrugged. "I'm different now."

"Interesting," Garuru mused.

"Your turn, Lieutenant."

* * *

"Aw, Kukiki didn't have to!" Tororo said brightly, holding up the box of homemade cookies that he had received in the mail.

Taruru seemed touched as he read the content on the small package that someone sent him. "Aw. Karara and Chiroro sent me chocolates."

Giroro didn't send Garuru anything, even though the older brother did anyway; a small letter congratulating him and other business affairs that he didn't want to get too touchy-feely on. At least his father gave him something: chopsticks.

"_I know how much you love 'em! From, your pop."_

His father was hysterical.

"Nothing for me, as usual," Zoruru said plaintively, landing from the ceiling to the wall. He folded his arms, irritated that no one had bothered to remember sending anything. "I have a mom and dad, don't I?"

"I dunno," Taruru said, his voice garbled from the chocolates he had stuffed in his mouth. "Do you?"

Zoruru was clearly about to shoot a very sarcastic remark when a look of realization shot against his features. "…_Do I?_" He stood blankly for the longest time. "…I don't remember."

"Now that's just sad, pu-pu!" Tororo grinned, swallowing his cookie.

"O-oh."

Pururu was blushing slightly, her eyes widening at the sight of a beautiful bouquet of flowers addressed to her. "These… these are beautiful…"

"They look Pekoponian," Tororo observed.

"They are," Pururu said, leaning down to sniff them. "Mm… and they smell wonderful!"

Garuru walked over to her and examined it cautiously. "…Who sent them to you?"

"I… don't know," the light purple Keronian said. She turned the small tag that was sticking out of the vase curiously. "…It's blank. It doesn't say."

"Anonymous?" Zoruru asked suspiciously. "Really?"

"It's just a secret admirer!" Taruru laughed, nonchalant about the whole matter. "Geez, relax! It's nothing to be worried about."

"Or she just sent it to herself, pu-pu," Tororo pointed out. "Maybe she did it to make herself feel younger and prettier."

"H-hey…!"

"Throw them away," Zoruru said briskly.

"What?!" Pururu turned to him. "Why?"

"Who knows who could have sent them to you," Zoruru clarified. "It might have been some sort of enemy; trust me when I tell you that I know there are certain techniques assassins use to get close to their foe… and they're _all _discreet."

"I see…" Pururu murmured, fingering the flower petals sadly.

Garuru watched her momentarily before glancing at Tororo. "…New Recruit?"

"Pu! Yes?"

"Can you please hold Chief Medic's gift under examination?" Garuru folded his arms when Zoruru and Pururu gazed at him quizzically. "I don't think it's necessary to give them away, but it doesn't mean there is no reason to be wary. You may keep your flowers, Chief Medic."

Pururu beamed at him, eyes sparkling slightly. "Thank you, Lieutenant. I appreciate it."

Garuru shrugged humbly. "Go on. I would appreciate it if you got that done as soon as possible."

Tororo rose from his seated position and closed his box of cookies. "Taruru."

"Yeah?" the light blue Keronian drawled.

"Don't touch my cookies."

"Okay."

When Tororo and Pururu left, Taruru cheerfully sat in Tororo's place and helped himself to the box.

Garuru walked over to where the flowers were once before and picked up a stray petal that had dropped on the floor. He gently rubbed it against his fingers, deep in thought.

"…You're jealous," Taruru said with a smirk.

"…I beg your pardon?" Garuru inquired, perking a brow.

"You and Zoruru. You're jealous."

"Of… what, may I ask?" Garuru was genuinely confused.

"Yes, Taruru," Zoruru said crisply, "Clarify."

"So you're going to tell me that none of you felt jealous when you saw Pururu with those flowers?" Taruru asked, raising his brows dubiously.

"…I still don't understand-"

"A guy's interested in Pururu and you guys are irritated about that," Taruru said with a sad sigh. "Geez. Either I'm getting this all wrong or you guys are just clueless-"  
"You're getting it all wrong," Zoruru and Garuru said simultaneously.

"There's nothing wrong for wanting to protect my platoon," Garuru replied simply.

"Precisely," Zoruru added, providing an eye roll and a scoff for the obnoxious suggestion the second class private had offered. "And I know more than everyone here regarding the techniques assassins use. Really, it doesn't hurt to be careful, Taruru."

"But _flowers_?" Taruru shook his head in disbelief. "And you guys call _me _the moron."

"…Hey," Zoruru said flatly, barely catching the insult. "…_Hey!_"

"The flowers were clean," Pururu declared cheerily. She inhaled them, taking in their sweet scent. "Mm. I'm going to put them in my room."

Zoruru watched her idly before he caught himself and huffed irritably. "I'm going to my room." He zipped off.

* * *

The gifts didn't stop that day.

The next, she received a green teddy bear with an antennae stick out of its head.

The day after, heart-shaped chocolates.

The next, a sweet poem dedicated to the girl he loves.

After that, Pururu got a perfume.

The next day, a CD with songs inside (she embarrassedly tore it in several pieces when Tororo asked her what 'sensual' and 'seductive' meant after listening to the lyrics).

"All these things!" Taruru said with a laugh. "Secret admirer. What did I tell you?"

"Maybe it's Bariri, and he finally decided to be normal for once?" Tororo asked as he typed something on his laptop. He scowled. "_Dangit! _Checkmate again!"

"Oh," Pururu blushed heavily. She was holding another box, meekly opening it to see what was inside it. "It might be…"

"He really needs to try to at least call-" Zoruru made a face. "…_What is that._"

"A fish," Pururu said, surprised, as she held a space tuna. She shuddered and tossed it in the garbage.

"Normal?" Taruru repeated teasingly, turning to Tororo.

Tororo grinned. "Normal for Bariri."

"True," Taruru concluded with a thoughtful nod.

The next gift was a dead Siunian raccoon. Pururu had hastily thrown it out to space (Garuru told me if you looked up at the stars long enough, you could see something floating in the sky…).

The next was a piece of black duct tape.

A yellow ripped up hand bag was sent to her the day after.

The next one was a bomb.

Garuru had caught it too late to detonate it and thus had to toss it as far away from them and cover the nurse with his body when it exploded.

"I knew it…"

"A bomb… W-….who would send me a bomb…?"

"The vipers…."

"Perhaps," Garuru mumbled. His back and his arms were burned from the explosion of the weapon. He could barely keep track of all the voices, and all the colors began to fade in and out, beckoning him to succumb to the sweet darkness. He heard the nurse crying out fearfully as he fell to the floor, losing all consciousness.

* * *

"…Mm…?"

"Stay down," Pururu murmured.

Garuru was on his belly, his face against the pillow facing her. "…What… happened?"

"The force of the bomb weakened you to the point of unconsciousness…" Pururu explained quietly, biting her lower lip. "…I'm sorry…"

"It… wasn't your fault…" Garuru attempted to get off the bed, but he couldn't. He moaned as he fell back on his belly, his arms searing with pain. He relaxed when he felt the nurse's touch apply a cool jelly-like substance on his back. "…That feels good…"

"That's good," Pururu said softly. "It's supposed to."

"…Mm… I feel drowsy…"

Pururu smiled. "…I gave you some pain relievers. I'm glad those are working too."

"Everything seems so-"

"-fuzzy?"

"…Yes…"

(Garuru said he couldn't remember anything after this point. He skipped to the part when he was able to walk without hurting too much. The keyword, ladies and ladies and ladies and gentlemen, is 'too'. Please keep that in mind.)

* * *

"How are you doing, Lieutenant?" Taruru asked him worriedly.

"I'm fine," Garuru muttered.

"Did Pururu do a good job?" Taruru paused. "Wait. Don't answer that. She always does a good job."

"She did," Garuru agreed, wincing as he sat down. "How… how long have I been out?"

"Oh, not long," Taruru assured him. "A couple hours. Pururu was in there the whole time… with you… alone…" His voice ran out a bit, as if he was heavily implying something to the Lieutenant.

Garuru still didn't know what he was talking about. When he made that point clear, Taruru simply face palmed and claimed he gave up, trotting over to the bag of the gifts Pururu had received.

"…What is that?" Garuru inquired, pointing at it.

"Oh. You know… all the things that that creep sent Pururu," Taruru explained, picking it up. "She wanted to throw it all away."

"I wonder what that was all about," Garuru murmured.

"Who knows," Taruru shrugged. "Really. As soon as someone sends you some sort of dangerous life-threatening weapon, you know the relationship is over."

"…Relationship?"

"Well, not _'relationship'_ per-se," Taruru puckered out his lips. "But… you know what I mean."

Garuru didn't, but thought it best not to bring it up.

"Leader?" Tororo walked over to him, carrying his laptop. "You have a message."

"From whom?"

"I d'nno. He interrupted my game of chess, though, so it better be important."

Garuru slowly accepted the oncoming message. The face of a very aggravated sea turtle came on the screen. Its face contorted to one of perplexity as soon as he noticed the purple Keronian.

"…Who are you?" the sea turtle asked arrogantly.

"I am Lieutenant Garuru of the Garuru Platoon. And may I ask, who are you?"

"King Denin. I will assume that you are Princess Clerrinian's father?"

Garuru frowned at this. "…I don't have a daughter." He stopped himself. "…Or, at least… not that I was clearly aware of…"

The king snorted at Garuru's dry attempt at humor (he wasn't attempting it; he was being stoically honest, as he normally was). "Oh _really. _But do you have a Princess Clerrinian for me to speak to?"

"…No," Garuru said. "Is she… Keronian?"

"Pfft. I don't know. All I know is that I'm supposed to be wooing her and showering her with gifts. I had assumed she was on your ship."

"…She's not," Garuru said, his eyes widening slightly as he began to piece everything together. "…So… you are the one who has been sending those mysterious gifts."

"Wedding gifts," King Denin said as he rolled his eyes. "Exactly."

"…Whoever gave you those coordinates, I'm sorry to say that they were wrong."

"…_CLAURENCE!" _

"Y-y-yes sire?"

"_YOU GOT THE COORDINATES WRONG YOU IDIOTIC PENGUIN!_ A-hem." The king returned his attention to the Lieutenant and closed his hands together cordially. "I apologize for the random presents that were sent to your destination-"

"-including the bomb."

"…_Right…_" the sea turtle laughed wryly at this. "_About that…_" He straightened. "It's custom in my kingdom to shower the unknown love of my life with gifts. If they show no interest and don't return the presents, then I send them garbage, and then after I laugh at them I kill them. Simple as that. No hard feelings. Speaking of which-" He stopped to shudder at the menacing glare Garuru gave him. "Keep them! Keep all the gifts! Really, it's the least I could do for almost killing you and all! Ha-ha gotta go." He immediately hung up.

Garuru sighed and leaned back against his chair, only to quickly and carefully launch himself off of it.

"…So none of it really was for me."

The leader, Tororo, and Taruru gazed to Pururu, who was holding the bouquet of flowers in her hands. She was staring at the soft petals, her face completely void of feeling.

"…Chief Medic-"

"I don't want them," Pururu said, throwing the flowers in the bag. "Take them away, Taruru."

"He said you could keep them, Chief Medic," Garuru said.

"I don't want them if they weren't meant for me."

The silence weighed down on all of them as she walked away.

* * *

"Chief Medic?"

"I'd rather be alone now, Lieutenant."

"…Very well. I'll respect your wishes... I'll leave them here, then."

Pururu twitched at the sound of a soft rustling that was set carefully on the floor. She turned, her eyes widening at the bouquet of freshly picked flowers. They focused a little more on the note sticking out of it. She timidly looked around before she hopped off her chair and walked toward it, picking it up and reading the note.

_"Thank you for everything._

_-Lieutenant Garuru."_

* * *

"Ha! I told you she'd like it," Taruru said cheerfully.

"She didn't..." Garuru muttered, folding his arms. "...She's angry..."

"Huh?" Taruru scrunched up his nonexistent nose. "Why do you say that?"

"Her face was all red."

Taruru stared at him for the longest time before he finally just merely grinned. "I love it when I find other idiots besides myself, Lieutenant. It's actually very refreshing."

Garuru immediately turned to the light blue space frog. "…What are you implying, First Class Private Taruru?"

"Nothing, nothing," Taruru said dismissively, his smile growing wider. "I'm going to go play online chess with Tororo now."

"…Very well."

* * *

"Who won?" I asked curiously.

"The New Recruit, not surprisingly," Garuru responded, sitting down on his bed. "Taruru, I noticed, chooses similar moves but in a different order, and he tends to favor the right side of the chessboard. I'm sure the New Recruit has also noticed this; it's no wonder that he had beaten him so easily."

"But… chess is kind of boring, isn't it?"

"…Your point?"

"It just doesn't seem like the type of game Taruru would like." I lay down against my bed and stared up at the ceiling fan. "And Tororo… doesn't really seem the type to really _welcomingly _let people that he obviously dislikes as much as Taruru to let him play an overly simply game as that…"

"He doesn't dislike the First Class Private," Garuru told me, running his hands against the fabric of his sleeping bag. "And I appreciate that they are accepting the fact that they are now in a platoon together… possibly for a very long time. It's not normal for the platoon to become estranged, and it's not a requirement for everyone to become close. But the best platoons are the ones that are close together." He made a small smile, as if he was thinking of a platoon in particular. "…Nevertheless… I appreciate that those two especially are willing to take an interest in each other."

"You learn something new everyday," I said.

"Mm."

"…Lieutenant?"

"Yes?"

"How did you guys meet?"

Garuru gazed up thoughtfully. "That is a story for another time, Cadet."

"Right." _Squeak. _"You want this back?"

"….Familiarity, Cadet."

I threw the rubber ducky on his bed, and he immediately sat up defensively. He gave me a warning glare, and seemed to jump slightly when he noticed that I was glaring at him back.

"…You live with me, you threw paint at me, you made me babysit you, get sick in the rain for people I don't know, engage myself in simulations that throw me in the most humiliating of scenarios, and we both exchange stories that we would never ever tell anyone else with each other." I took a deep breath, staring at him intently. "…We've gone way past 'familiarity' now." I didn't wait for his response and instead lay back down on my bed. "Think about that." I switched off the light. "Good night, Lieutenant."

* * *

**Woot. A more lighthearted chapter. **

**...Sort of. I hope you thought so, anyway. **

**Many of you guys may be wanting to see Stella's art… well, now you can, including asking the characters questions that you may have in mind, or just seeing random doodles that I draw (and Stella's art, because it's awesomelicious. …. That isn't a word. Ignore me please). I now have a Tumblr account for One Hundred Days! If you're interested, feel free to take a look. The link is in my FanFiction page.**

**REBIRTH: metamorphosis. Transformation.**

**Rebirth as tadpoles? ... Hey, I tried, didn't I? **

**...I just realized how jumpy this story is. Ugh. When am I going to improve...?**


	27. Forever and a Day

**DAY TWENTY-FIVE, WORD TWENTY-FIVE: FOREVER AND A DAY**

**_As Told by RITA_**

* * *

"All right… we need just one more adjective."

"Forever!" Taruru exclaimed, jumping up with an enthusiasm that any blue frog-like alien would have if his name were Taruru. I scribbled the word "forever" down where there was one last space in which an adjective had to be placed. Now the story was done. I couldn't wait to read it.

"Ahem." I cleared my throat. "_Video Games_: I love to cook video games. I can play them day and chocolate! My mom and turtle are not too happy with my swimming so much time in front of the television coconut. Although Dad believes that these kawaii games help children develop hand-tooth coordination and improve their learning buckets, he also seems to think they have pie-flavored side effects on one's butt. Both of my brains think this is due to a forever use of violence in the majority of the kindergarteners. Finally, we all arrived at a sarcastic compromise: After dinner I can play over 9,000 hours of video games, provided I help clear the potatoes and wash the One Hundred Days."

If I had any breath left in me, it all spilled out as I exploded into fits out laughter. Judging by Taruru's equal amount of giggles as well, I perceived him to be on the floor just as I was.

Due to my uncontrollable laughter, the passing foot of Kitty just barely skimmed my head as she walked past the two of us. She glanced toward us and grinned. "Heh, well you two have certainly gotten chummier over the last few chapters," she said, and left to go up the stairs, perhaps to do something with Tororo.

I shot her an irritated look between my laughs. …But wait… what was that she said about?—

We kept giggling for five minutes, and then Taruru and I were able to catch our breaths.

"What… was that… called again?" asked Taruru between giggles. It sounded like he was hyperventilating.

"It's called Mad Libs," I explained. "It's where you have a bunch of spaces to fill and—"

"Yeah, I know that already!" said Taruru. "Because we just did it—" The end of his sentence was cut short by yet another fit of laughter.

Laughing was so fun. So much _funner_ than _not laughing_, and in this case I use the term "funner" loosely, as it is not a real word.

Darn you, English language.

"Uh, Rita?" Taruru looked up at me. "What I you clenching your fist at?"

"It's hard to explain, Tororo."

"I'm Taruru."

"Oh yeah." I blushed. This wasn't the first time I made that mistake, and I'm sure it wouldn't be the last.

I cleared my throat again, even though I'd kept promising myself that I'd break the such habit. My eyes wandered to the wall, stained yellow from those annoying florescent lights that distort colors into… warpy… things.

"Hey, why are you so quiet all of a sudden?" asked Taruru. Aw, it was so sweet that he was so concerned for me. "It usually means something's up if you haven't spurted out anything for more than five seconds."

"Uh, it does?" Wow. I didn't know I talked so much. Are people who love to write usually so talkative? Oh no, I'm doomed….

FOR FROG'S SAKE KITTY PLEASE BE QUIET CAN'T YOU SEE I'M TRYING TO WRITE HERE—

Ahem. …Did I ever mention that I looooove caps lock?

"I guess I'm just quiet because I talked too much earlier and now I'm all burned out."

"Oh, yeah, kind of like a kid?"

"Yeah, I—" WHOA. "Hey, Taruru… you're a kid, too, aren't you?"

"Um, yeah."

"But you certainly don't _look_ like a kid…. And _I_ don't look like a kid, but I sure do act like one. So does that mean—" My eyes glistened with anime-like sincerity. "—that we're brothers?"

"Whoa, maybe it—" Taruru shook his head. "No! No, it does not!"

My smile fell.

"First of all, _you're a girl_!"

"How'd you know?" I gasped. I surely thought that my haircut would've said otherwise. Because, you see, bishonen are so easy to come by nowadays, that it's so hard to tell who's what gender anymore.

Taruru threw up his hands, still both connected. "And we're different species!"

Oh, yeah.

"And, don't you forget," he said finally and with the slightest hint of a touch of pride, waving a finger, "I am an orphan!"

All the more reason for us to have been—

_Oh_. Ohhhh great.

Have I ever mentioned how wonderful distractions are?

Mad Libs, for example, is a great distraction.

Too bad I already filled up the whole book.

My gut began filling up with this awful feeling as well. Icky and squishy, and possibly yellow. Huh. Wonder if it was Chron's.

I forced my throat to swallow the lump that was inside it, pushing down the thoughts arising in my head. It was impossible to think—that Taruru, _this_ Taruru (for lack of a better pronoun)—was an orphan. That jokester, the playful little kid… I never would have guessed…. Maybe it was like Naruto syndrome or something.

"Uh, hey, um…. You know, we've been avoiding that little topic and all, but…" I twiddled my fingers together, worried that he might reject my offer. It would only make sense that he would, and if he did, there would be no possible way I could hold that against him. "…do you wanna, I dunno…" I swallowed again. "…talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" He fed me a confused, I-don't-get-what-you're-saying sort of look.

"You know… how you're and orphan and stuff."

Taruru did nothing but blink for a rather long moment, and then afterward he fidgeted.

"If—if you don't want to talk about it, that's okay," I told him, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "B-but… you know… I was just thinkin' and all that you might want to talk about it with someone."

He still said nothing.

After another moment of awkward silence, I came forth. "My sister was adopted."

"Kitty?" he asked, stunned.

"No, the little one," I said. "You know, the one that snuggles you in your sleep, thinking that you're only a plushy…."

Taruru made a face. I still liked Tororo's better, though. "You mean Ar—"

"AHEM. Her name will be kept as Tan-tan on this land called the internet."

"Um, what?—"

"As I was saying," I continued, "yeah, Tan-tan's not related to us or anything. But my mom always had this dream to adopt a baby from China, so during my summer of first grade, we went to China and adopted her." I nodded to myself. "It was pretty fun."

"Oh, but since she's adopted… she never really actually connects with the rest of you guys, does she?" asked Taruru a bit worriedly.

"What? Psh, _no_, of course she does," I told him. "Those rumors that adopted kids don't connect with biological ones? _Lies_! All lies!"

"Uh, and what would your point be?" he said. I guess he really wanted to know. So did I.

"My point… is…" I grabbed for the closest thing to me and thrust it dramatically into the air. "…_this eraser!_"

"Ah! I get it now!" Taruru's eyes shone magnificently with understanding.

I dropped the pencil. "Wait, what?"

"Uh, I guess I just said that to sound like I was listening." His head turned slightly away from me, as if he was ashamed by this.

"Hey, did you know that putting sugar on a wound will make it heal faster?" I said out of the blue. "It can reduce pain, too."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I dunno, I just said it because KITTY WON'T STOP TALKING WHILE I'M TRYING TO WRITE—"

Erm. I will stop now.

"Anyway, my point is that you shouldn't let it get to you if you're an orphan. There are plenty of orphans out there in the world—and plenty of them in China, too, even though all the ones I saw were female (which was a bit heartbreaking)—so a bunch of people will be able to understand you. And besides." I forced a laugh, trying to make my point more pronounced. Me and my bad comforting skills and all. "Even if you had parents, the minute you struck teenagehood, you'd begin hating them."

Taruru's eyes were watery. Whoops. Guess I should shut up now or something.

"Uh, I'm sorry," I said. "I really do talk to much. I should think about what I say before I say it."

But oddly, now Taruru was smiling.

Panic set in. I knew this routine only too well.

"Hey, Taruru, have you ever watched any anime?" I asked.

"All the time!" He said this normally, in the same tone that he always spoke in…. Dread set in me.

"You know how everything's all dramatic all the time? And there are those really emo guys, bent on killing their brothers or something, and then those girls who always cry all the time and just won't stop…."

"Yeah, I think they overdo it sometimes," he commented.

"Yes, but what I mean is…." I began to bite my lip. Another bad habit I should break—and maybe instead put on some chapstick. _Lots_ of chapstick. "I really come to like those characters. You know, because they're so reliable. I really wish a lot of people in real life were like that—who cares if it's overdramatic, at least you know what they're feeling…."

Taruru looked at me quizzically, sticking out his lips. I would have thought it was a funny expression, if not for the situation.

"W-well, sometimes, I… I wish you were like that too. I wish you acted like how you feel on the inside, if that makes any sense."

"It doesn't," he told me.

"But it _has_ to! What other way can I explain it?" I thought a moment. "I wish… I wish that you would stop pretending to be an idiot even when you aren't. Because I _know_ you aren't."

This next expression of his was one I'd never seen before: though whether he was offended or touched, I couldn't quite tell.

"And besides, acting like an idiot is _my_ job. If you take it away, then what will _I_ do?" I said teasingly, bumping him playfully in the shoulder with my fist.

"Aw, you can act like an idiot too! There's plenty of room for more in my club!" Ah. _That_ was the Taruru I knew.

I put my hand in the air. "I call dibs on free admissions!"

"You can't do that!"

"Oh well!"

Both of us were now laughing, and I felt that a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Never in a million minutes would I tell him this, but Taruru I felt that I was more comfortable around when he was in this happy mood of his. Maybe he felt the same about me, too. Besides, who wanted to be around someone who was glum all the time?

The image of Garuru suddenly flashed through my head. Whoa.

Not that glum people have no hope in the world. That is _not_ what I meant. But to be honest, being happy with people makes others a lot happy, too. Obviously. In this generation, there were so many people with problems surrounding their lives that they needed _someone_ to act like an idiot to make them feel better. I fulfilled that position with dignity and pride. And Taruru, even though he did act like a total idiot most of the time, and sometimes even insulted people without knowing it, was definitely a very fun person-alien-thing, and call me crazy, but I think I was even getting used to hanging around with him. And who was I to talk? I probably acted like an idiot even more, and the best part is, most of the time I didn't even know it.

Because I was a boss at idiocy.

Taruru began giving me strange looks, seeing me ramble on in my head for so long.

For some reason, this returned me to thinking about what Kitty said earlier—about how we were acting a lot chummier than we had earlier. Could that have really been true? I suppose it might've been, because I was no longer deliberately avoiding Taruru and picking on him. There might have even been a little more respect going on between us. But that was probably it; Kitty always said the weirdest of things. Like those times she said I had a large forehead. _Pshh_. Crazy.

Admittedly, when I first met Taruru, he wasn't all that interesting to me when it came to first impressions. Well, other than the fact that he was an alien—How was that _not_ interesting? But there just seemed to be something… about him… that I felt uncomfortable about. Perhaps it was the fact that he acted like a real idiot. And, I mean, who in their right mind would act like an idiot willingly? …Well _that_ didn't turn out like I expected.

But then, orphan or not, he began to grow on me. Like, I could actually tolerate him after a while. And in such a short time as about thirteen chapters, I actually came to believe that he was kind of a fun guy. And I actually _connected_ with him in some way. Maybe it was because he actually was funny, and he succeeded in making me laugh. A lot of people picked on him, and I could tell that, so right then, I made a silent promise to myself that there would be one less person who did.

Teasing still doesn't count.

But to have been thinking something for so long—that Taruru was just a simple person-alien-thing—and then to have that thrust back into one's face saying _you were wrong about everything you thought you knew_, it hurt, as selfish as that may sound. Knowing that Taruru was not who I thought he was, and not for that reason—knowing something like that again—it reminded me even more so of how wretched it really is to make assumptions about the way people act and just stick with it. _No_. Everyone's more complicated than that. Everyone is.

Taruru was no exception.

Then, when he was a child again…. When he looked into my eyes and asked me if I would be his new mother…. What was I supposed to do? How could I have denied such a lonely child a small hope that would be diminished in one hour anyway? How could I stuff down all the feels?

Dwelling on these facts, however, would do no good. Besides, Taruru wasn't always acting the way he was because he had a secret emo past or something silly like that—it was also just who he was.

A tiny voice in my head spoke to me and told me that I must stop rambling on in my head, so I obeyed like the trained slave I was.

So now for a subject change.

"Hey Taruru, do you tell stories?" I asked, moving around on the ground so that I was now lying on my stomach, with my chin in my hands. This way I could make him feel special for once by looking _up_ at him.

"You bet I do! I love stories!" he said with a fist in the air.

"All right, tell me one."

"Okay, well, once there was this guy who—"

I giggled. "No, I meant one about _you_."

"Um, why do you want to hear a story about _me_?" he wondered. "I don't have any stories! None that are worth telling, anyway!"

"Oh, come _on_!" I rolled onto my back in exasperation. "Even _I_ have stories to tell, uh, I think. Don't be shy! Here, I'll start." I searched my mind for something worthwhile to share, something short so that it wouldn't take up all of the chapter. "Did you know that my brother only has nine toes?"

Taruru scoffed and held up his foot. "That's _nothing_! I have none, beat that!"

"He doesn't have a brain, either."

"Neither do I!"

"Maybe that's because he stole yours."

"I thought he didn't have one…."

"Well, he does now, because he apparently stole yours."

Taruru cocked a brow at me. But, wait, if he _didn't_ have a brain, then what was it that took up that big space in his head?

It must have been cotton candy.

…That or he was just joking. But I like the cotton candy theory better.

"All right, I will tell you _one_ thing," said Taruru after a moment of thinking. "But you have to promise not to laugh."

"I can't guarantee that I'll keep that promise. I laugh during weird times," I warned him.

"Okay." Taruru took a breath. "Well, when I was younger and in the—"

I burst out laughing.

Taruru was fuming. "I don't understand what's so funny about that!"

"I don't know either! I _told_ you that I laughed at weird times!" My shoulders were shaking uncontrollable. And then I stopped, like magic. _Just like hiccups_.

Taruru cleared his throat, and continued. "Anyway, as I was saying. When I was younger and still in training school, I kind of had his ambition… this dream that I wanted to fulfill when I grew up." He clenched his fist. "But all my friends laughed at me. I guess they just didn't think I had what it took. And I never really was able to become one, but it was my childhood dream. I wanted to be a wig stylist."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

He drew his arms in. "D-don't judge me."

"I'm not gonna judge you. I think it's cool."

"You do?" he asked, sounding pleased.

I won't lie when I say that I felt guilty—I didn't really find the career cool, but rather the fact that I imagined in my head Taruru with sunglasses as he sat on a motorcycle and styled wigs for Keronians. _That_ was what was cool.

"So, why couldn't you become one?" I asked.

He rubbed his arm nervously. "Uh, well, I didn't really study all that much. Wig schools are really hard to get into. And… they kind of threw my exam out."

"Wait, but I thought you wanted to go into the military," I remembered.

"Yeah, but I wanted to become a wig stylist too! C'mon, I was a _kid_!"

I rubbed my chin. "Hm, can't deny that one." My eyes went to the sky outside the windows, which was a deep blackish-blue. "Well, it's getting late. We better head on back wherever my room is—Tan-tan's going to be wondering where her plushy is." I winked at him. "So let's save the joking for another day."

"Awww, all right." He sounded rather disappointed.

As we headed on back upstairs, I thought to myself, and only to myself, that I was lucky for having found such a person-alien-thing that was so close to me, personality-wise. It must have been fate that we were drawn together like this, magical transportation to Arizona and everything. But then the next thought saddened me: what would happen when Taruru left? I had gotten so accustomed to his presence and his personality, so what would become of Kitty and me when the two of them left? As much as I would never willingly admit it to him, I liked being… friends… with Taruru. And I was hoping that things would stay that way forever. But unfortunately, nothing lasts forever, and nothing will go past such.

I hope no one heard when I tripped on that cat back there.


	28. Breaking Away

**DAY TWENTY-SIX, WORD TWENTY-SIX: BREAKING AWAY**

* * *

"Cadet. _Wake up. _I'm _not _going to tell you again."

I groaned. "L…Lieutenant?" I rubbed my eye and yawned. "What time is it…?"

I saw Garuru's shadowy silhouette bend down to pick up the phone on the floor. He pressed something, and it lit up, his purple face appearing more visibly then.

"Around four."

I moaned. "_Lieutenant…_"

"Cadet. Get up. _Now._"

I sighed heavily and pulled myself off the bed, blinking to force the sleep back.

"Get dressed."

"Okay…"

I grabbed the clothes from my closet and tiredly walked to the restroom to change. Once inside, I changed my pajamas into a t-shirt and jeans and then brushed my teeth and washed my face, feeling my hair stick onto the sides of my cheeks before I dried it.

I walked back to my room and closed the door, flickering on the lights. "Well, Lieutenant?" I sighed. "What's up?"

"Target practice," Garuru said in explanation, walking by me and heading toward the door. "Come."

"Target practice? …. _Target practice?_"

"_Sh. _You don't want to wake your family."

I felt my mouth go dry and my face turn pale as I turned off the light and followed him, careful not to trip or step on him in the darkness. My heart drummed against my chest. _Target practice? _

I quietly opened the front door and let him out, gently closing it behind me. I then took a deep breath and watched him continue on to the park where we had gone before.

"What did I do?" I asked finally, folding my arms as I walked after him.

"Do?"

"Yeah. Did my alarm go off again? Because I didn't hear it-"

"No. It didn't. I just want you to practice your accuracy."

I suddenly remembered what happened last night for some reason, my getting irritated at him for saying the oh-so often uttered phrase '_familiarity, Cadet'_ and tossing the rubber duck on his bed. I chewed on my lower lip shamefully.

"…Lieutenant… About yesterday… I'm s-"

"If you apologize I will shoot you."

I jumped at this, eyes wide. "W…what?"

"It's about time you started standing up for yourself," Garuru said without turning. "If you must start on me, then so be it. However, if you apologize for even doing that, I will lose all respect for you. Keep that in mind."

I felt my face burn heavily. "Y-yes, sir."

Garuru made a very short, very dry humorless chuckle. "Good."

* * *

We do have grass in the park, but it needs to be replaced every six months; typically, they dry and wither out to the point where you can't grow them anymore. In the early hours of the day, when the sun doesn't get up, the grass will still have the tiniest bit of dew on them. I could feel the wetness at the bottom of my jeans as I sluggishly followed Garuru to our training regimen.

He set up the targets like he did before, and I watched idly, feeling particularly self-conscious and embarrassed. I yawned and rubbed my eyes again, brushing my hair away from my face.

"There," Garuru affirmed as he put up the last one. He clapped the dust off his hands. "I have a proposition for you, Cadet."

"Mmhm?"

"I have heard that Pekoponians usually are more motivated when they have a particular reward once they reach a certain goal."

"….Mmhm?"

"That's what I'm going to do with you." Garuru turned to me, folding his arms in on each other. "It is essential that you learn accuracy, especially if it seems that most of the Sergeant Major's simulations' skills are army-based. If you reach a certain quota…" Garuru stared at me intently. "…I will do anything you tell me to do."

"…What?"

"I will do anything you tell me to do. And I will keep my word."

"Whoa, whoa, wait- so, like… a dare? You'd even do something stupid if I ask you to?"

"When I say anything, I mean anything, Cadet."

"Oh, boy," I rubbed the back of my neck. "Well this proposition is certainly very tempting-"

"But if you don't meet the quota," Garuru continued, interrupting me, "You will have to do what I say- _anything._"

"So what we're doing here," I spun my finger at the ground. "…Are we making a bet?"

"Mm, I suppose you can call it that. However, just as you can expect me to keep my word, I just as expect you to keep yours."

"…I'm not sure if I should be enthusiastic or scared," I replied, rubbing my arm.

"You shouldn't be, if you're confident."

"…Yeah," I nodded. "You're right. I'll try to do my best, then."

"Good."

* * *

"Not quite there yet," Garuru said, perking a brow.

_'Not quite there yet'_, I inwardly mocked to myself. I could tell he was keeping in a grin because he knew he was going to win the bet. He probably did that on purpose.

Geez.

I squeezed the trigger and shot at the target- it missed by a whole foot and shot a bush.

Poor bush.

"Yeah, yeah, Lieutenant. Laugh." He wasn't really, but I could tell by the way he calmly brought a hand to his mouth that he was extremely amused by my sad attempts to meet my quota.

Oh, yes. I was going to lose, and he was finding that very funny.

"…Who are you talking to?"

I turned around, bringing the gun back down to my side. I felt my face flush as I tried to hide it behind my back. "U-uh… n-nobody. U-um. M-myself. Yeah… y-yeah, myself."

The girl that was currently standing in front of me was very tall (though perhaps that was a bit redundant of me, wouldn't you say?), with long dark curled hair that fell down her hips. The light was barely coming out, but even then I could still see her eyes: narrow, and dark. For some strange reason she reminded me of a cat; a thin body, but a somewhat mysterious presence that just… watched me. _Observed _me, more like, her eyes following my every rigid movement. I twitched slightly, uncomfortable under her stare.

"You're doing that wrong," the girl said flatly.

"H-huh?" I gave her a broken smile. "Am… Am I doing what wrong?"

"That," the girl said, pointing at the horribly hidden gun behind my back. She walked up to me and gently touched my hand. I sprang away and made several steps back. She gazed quizzically at me. "What? Did I shock you?"

"N-n-no," I muttered, my face probably turning rosy at that moment. "I-I mean, y-yeah…"

"Hm." The girl picked up my hand and it took all my willpower not to squirm with her so close to me. "Let me see this. I won't steal it, don't worry."

I released it, and she grabbed it in a way that made me feel as if she had done held something like this before. She then turned to the targets, brought up the gun, concentrated, and shot- a near perfect hole in one.

"Not bad," I heard Garuru murmur.

"Thanks," the girl smiled at me. O-oh.

"Y-yeah," I stammered, hoping to talk over Garuru's comment. "You're pretty good at that."

"My mom's in the military," the girl explained to me, handing me back the gun. "I like these. I practice with them a lot."

"Ha… that's nice."

"Here. Let me help you." She walked behind me, and again, I felt uncomfortable. "…Wow. You're very short."

"…I get that a lot."

"How old are y-?"

"What do you want?" I asked, rather forcefully. I blushed heavily and turned to her. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for me to say it like that! I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"And you apologize a lot," the girl noted, placing her hands inside her pockets. "What's your name?"

"…Johnny," I said slowly. "I'm Johnny Cadet."

"I'm Gabrielle," the girl said, holding out her hand. I timidly and quickly shook it, making sure that I hurriedly took my own out of her grasp.

"So, um… what are you doing here so early?" I inquired.

"I saw you."

"O-oh?"

"I live right over there," the girl pointed down a certain path, quite a long one from an actual street. "I sometimes walk around really early in the morning. I heard your gunshots and decided to come take a look." She shrugged. "And I also thought I might help you out."

"…Yeah, I'm bad," I said, humiliated.

"But you don't seem like the type of person to wield a gun willingly," Gabrielle said, not exactly saying anything to prove me wrong. "You're too… delicate looking. No offense."

"None taken." That's… actually not the first time I've heard someone call me that before. "Um… actually… I thought learning to shoot a gun for, you know, self defense actually sounded pretty cool… so, um… I decided to try and learn…"

"…Hm." Gabrielle tilted her head slightly. "Okay then. Do you want me to help you?"

I glanced at Garuru, who was apparently hidden from the eyes of the girl. He waved his hand slightly, motioning the phrase _'go ahead_'.

Like I need his permission.

"Alright," Gabrielle said, grabbing my shoulders and turning me toward the targets. I shivered as I felt her hands run down my arms to position them to hold the gun correctly. "This is how-"

"No!" I jumped out of her hold and spun to face her. "N-no, it's fine!" I laughed weakly. "You don't have to, um, teach me. I'll be fine."

"…You sure?"

"Positive. In fact… I think I'll end my little training session right now."

Gabrielle frowned, and then sighed. "Alrighty then." She gazed at me almost hopefully. '…Hey. Are you going to be back here?"

"…Yeah," I said slowly. "Why?"

"Oh. No reason." The girl waved shyly at me. "I'll see you soon then?"

"…Sure."

She gave me a small smile and then turned around, her hands in her pockets. I had this vague feeling that I was going to be seeing her again, maybe at this particular spot when Garuru took me out here for target practice. I also had a feeling that he was going to make me train until I bled perfection.

Whoopee.

Garuru walked over to me, a tad too casual than usual.

When the girl left, I heard him say with the tiniest bit smugness in his voice, "I won."

"I know, I know," I sighed. "You won." I looked down at him. "So what do I have to do?"

Garuru meditated deeply on this, his fist resting against his chin as he thought. Slowly, his mouth formed into a tiny smirk, and he gazed up at me. He wiggled his finger toward himself, and I hesitantly lowered myself to my knees. He leaned against my ear and whispered his request.

"_No!_" I said, horrified. "No, no, _no!_ Anything but that! Please!"

"I told you I was going to make you keep your word, Cadet," Garuru said coolly, folding his arms. "And that I will."

"Something else, please!"

Garuru shook his head. "Maybe that will enable you to succeed more in the future. Consider this as a military punishment for not meeting your quota."

I moaned, and then stopped when I remembered a particular thought.

School.

…_Crap!_

* * *

I'm time skipping to the afternoon, because I hate class. Hate it with a flipping _passion. _And if my passion were a color, it would be mud, because mud is an ugly color.

Oh, yes. Senioritis.

*Ahem* Back to the story.

I survived AP Econ. Woot. Woot. _Woot… _

I flopped against my bed without regarding the purple frog, who looked like he was waiting by the door for something.

"…What?" I asked, my voice muffled through the pillow.

"Let's go."

"…_Where_?"

"You know where."

"…Geez, you really aren't going to let me break away from that stupid bet, are you?"

"I'm going to make you live up to your word," Garuru reminded me needlessly. "Now let's go. I'm not going to tell you again."

"…Does it really have to be today?"

"Yes."

I sighed heavily and pushed myself off the bed. "…Alright…"

* * *

"Lieutenant? May I remind you that you woke me up at _four _in the morning?"

"No, you needn't. I just want to make sure you stick to your promise."

How humiliating. My parents wouldn't mind it, I was sure; my mom would probably enthuse over Garuru's idea, and my father would give me awkward stares from time to time but _hey. _It was cool. It was _all _cool with _Garuru. _

See that? I used sarcasm.

…_Still. _I couldn't take the fact that I was going to have to do this- I actually couldn't _believe _the fact that I was _going_ to _do _this.

"Where can we find it, Cadet?" Garuru inquired, gazing up at me.

"…We can find some in the Dollar Store," I mumbled, sagging my shoulders slightly.

"Good. We're almost there, correct?"

Shoot. "Yeah, we are." I gazed down at him. "Hey, is your invso-thingy working?"

"It should be," Garuru said. He carefully walked around a caterpillar that was inching across the sidewalk. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

"Hm. Alright then."

The bell twinkled when I opened the door.

Idelle cheerfully waved me in. "Hey! Welcome to… the Dollar Store!" She walked over to me and held out her hand. "It's nice to see you back! How have you been?"

"…Better," I said with a tight grin. _Way _better. "And you?"

"Good!" Idelle replied. She gestured to the young man behind the counter. "Ullium is still lazy though."

"_And I still heard that._"

"So!" Idelle piped up, ignoring him, "What can I help you with today?"

I felt my face heat up as a gave a side glance to Garuru, who perked a brow right back. I sighed, and muttered what I needed.

"Oh." The girl blinked at me. "You're planning on-?"

"I lost a bet. You… do have some, right?"

"Yeah, we do. It's over there." Idelle gestured over a couple aisles away before holding her arm back unconfidently. "Um, Ullium? Can you help them out there?"

The boy unglued his eyes to his iPad and stared at us. He gave his sister a very bored look, his mouth grim. "Yeah?"

"Can you help Johnny out?"

"What with?" Ullium asked, grunting as he pulled himself out of his chair.

I told him what I needed, looking off to the side.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," Idelle said brightly, "I think it's a very cute idea!"

"Cute. Hm."

"It's on Aisle B," Ullium said after a while. "It's in the very back, but you shouldn't miss it." He plopped back on his seat and resumed with his activity on the flat device.

"There you go!" Idelle picked up her broom that she had left off to the side. "If you need anything else, we're right here, okay?"

"Thanks." I cocked my head toward the direction Ullium showed me and walked off, Garuru at my heels. I think even he seemed subtly surprised that I was going to do this. Why should he? _He has the flipping guns. _And not just any guns either. They're about three times his size.

Three times his size.

I shuddered at that thought.

"Here they are," Garuru mused, looking over the selection. "What are you going to pick, Cadet?"

I sighed, dreading this moment, and squatted down to examine the boxes. Might as well pick something normal. "This one."

"I suppose that's a wise choice," the purple Keronian said, tilting his head slightly.

"You suppose?" I asked dryly. "You're funny, Lieutenant." I stood up. "Let's just get out of here, okay?"

"I'll assume that now you're quick to want to try out your punishment?"

"…Are you teasing me again?"

"I'm serious as I always am, Cadet."

"Uh-huh. Right." _Familiarity, Lieutenant. _Feh. He's such a hypocrite. I stopped by the mini freezer and pulled the glass to the side. "Want anything, Lieutenant?"

Garuru gazed at them idly. "None of it interests me. Rather, I'd appreciate it if I could have some water."

"Sure," I said, picking out a coconut bar and closing the freezer. I walked over to the fridge next to it and grabbed a water bottle, nearly making the mistake of having Garuru carry it around.

Imagine that. A floating water bottle. Am I the only one that thinks that's kinda funny?

"Good luck with that," Ullium said dismissively as he handed me my change.

"It'll look good on you," Idelle assured me with a wink.

I swear I just wanted to duck into a tiny hole and never come out.

As I opened the door and stepped outside, my cell phone warmed and vibrated on my pocket. I picked it up and placed it against my ear. "Y'ello?"

"Johnny," my sister said, her loud voice making me wince. Oops. Forgot I had it in speaker. I turned that option off.

"What is it?"

"Dad says he wants you to pick up that oil stuff for his car."

"…Can't you do it?"

"Can't. Mom needs me for work. You know how that is."

I huffed slightly. _No kidding. _"Okay, fine. I just didn't feel like doing it because I'm all the way out at the Dollar Store."

"Well, then, you have a _lot _of walking to do."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll keep that in mind, BB-Gun. See you later."

She hung up, and I placed my phone back in my pocket. "Change of plans, Lieutenant. We get to delay our little bet for a little longer."

"Very well," Garuru took the water out of my plastic bag and twisted the cap off. "Where are we off to?"

"We gotta go to this car shop like a mile away," I said, shaking my head. "I should've brought my bike."

Garuru said nothing to this. "It seems we really do have a lot of walking to do."

"Then…" I looked at him hopefully. "You think we could start our stories a little sooner? I mean, this chapter is going to get pretty boring with me just skipping to another part again and again and again."

"…Cadet," Garuru said after taking a swig of water. "…The fourth wall."

"…_Right._"

Geez. I gotta stop making a habit out of that.

"Do I have to tell you a story?" I inquired. "I mean, I could do something else."

Garuru stepped on a piece of advertisement and picked it up curiously. Big, bold letters reading '**_Houston Choir Presents The Doodly Duck_**' flashed on the page. He crumpled it into a little ball and threw it in the nearest trashcan nearby.

"I don't know," Garuru said flatly. "I suppose you can tell me a story exclusive to the Pekoponian world."

"Okay." I thought deeply about this, and then snapped my fingers. "Okay. This one is _very _well known. It was originally written by William Shakespeare, an Elizabethan play writer. It's a tragic love story called 'Romeo and Juliet', and it's acted on _everywhere. _I actually believe this story might somehow focus on this very play soon, if not later-"

"_Fourth wall._"

"I'm sorry!" Okay, I admit it. Brutally slaughtering that thing is about as enjoyable as indulging in chocolate bunnies. Confession out? Good. Moving on. "'Romeo and Juliet' is about two different families fighting against each other for a reason that they cannot remember: the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo, a Montague, falls madly in love with a girl named Juliet, a Capulet. Obviously, because of their raging families, they realize that their love is 'star-crossed', or doomed to fail."  
"So they cut the relationship," Garuru said.

"…They get married."

"Doomed to fail," Garuru said with a small sigh.

"At the same time this is happening, Juliet's father has already agreed to a marriage engagement with another guy. Sometime after _that, _Romeo's friend picks a fight with Juliet's cousin. Juliet's cousin kills Romeo's friend, Romeo kills cousin, and then gets banished for that. Juliet, similarly, is facing a crisis on her own: her father had announced the marriage arrangement and had threatened that if she doesn't marry the guy, then she will be forever shunned from the family." I paused. "…Is that how Keron is, Lieutenant?"

"In some families," Garuru responded slowly. "Depending on who you ask, the viewpoint to that is very varied, however."

"And yours?"

"…I'm not sure," the purple Keronian said. Before we could go further in the issue, he waved his hand dismissively. "Go on."

"Juliet makes a plan with the Friar, the one who married the two in the first place, to fake death and have Romeo come to her so that they could run away together," I detailed. I've read this play too many times for fun. "However, the Friar's letter to Romeo never comes through, so when Romeo hears Juliet is dead, he really believes she's dead. He visits her tomb where she had been laid, and laments on how bitter life is and all that jazz. Juliet's engaged comes in on Romeo, suspects him to be some sort of rogue, and challenges him to a duel. That dude is pwn'd under Romeo. Romeo drinks a poison, and dies. Juliet wakes up. Juliet sees Romeo on floor. Juliet kisses the corpse on the lips to try and poison herself. It fails epically. So she takes his knife and stabs herself. The end."

"…Compared to the fairytales you explained to me, this one seems the most realistic," Garuru said pointedly.

"It probably is," I agreed. "But that wasn't just it, actually; through the deaths of their son and daughter, the Montagues and the Capulets decided to come to grips with reality and to finally just accept the fact that they should be united with peace, and not separated by war over some fight that neither of them remembered… they didn't want to shed anymore blood or tears."

"Have you ever acted in that play?" Garuru asked me.

"No. I've played as Mr. Keller in 'The Miracle Worker' in a play, though." I grinned wryly when he gave me a blank look. "Yeah. Didn't think you would know what _that _was…"

"Who was Mr. Keller?"

"This mean big guy who scared everyone with his bossy and proud attitude."

Garuru coughed.

"…What?"

"…No offense, but… how did you manage to get that role?"

"I'm a _very _good actor," I said, slightly insulted. "I may suck at fighting and being tough and math and being… normal, but when it comes to writing, or acting or singing, I personally think I'm really good."

Garuru stared at me. "…You… sing."

Oops. "…_No, _I, um… don't…" I rubbed the back of my neck, which I knew was beginning to grow red in color. "Anyway! Your turn. Let's hear it."

"…I don't sing."

"Then dance for us instead."

Garuru gazed at me amusedly. "I think I'll stick to my storytelling, Cadet."

* * *

It was probably within the first couple of weeks the Garuru Platoon had met each other for the first time.

It wasn't exactly awkward, per-se, but there was still quite of distance between them. They continued their day in near routine, exerting themselves with work and finding few days in the week for them to sleep early, reserving a special day for a 'movie night', in which one of the platoon members would get to pick the film and have the rest watch it with popcorn ("Let me guess, Lieutenant. You picked a movie with rubber duckies in it." "No. I chose one that taught us how to apply varies of interesting methods of torture. Would you like me to demonstrate?" "No, no, no, it's fine. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Go ahead.").

But even these nights seemed a bit distant, especially compared to how they are now. Garuru assumed that they were always going to be so- being 'close' never really came to his mind.

All that ended, however- and began- with a sudden, eerie aura swirling in the blackness.

Garuru blinked, finding himself staring at the ceiling. He twisted his features into one of confusion as he sat up and massaged his head. That was certainly peculiar.  
He didn't get nightmares all that often…

_Thump._

The purple Keronian lowered his hand and gazed off to the side, eyes dilating slightly.

A Pekoponian stood by the door, which he could have sworn was closed- completely masked in shadow.

"Who's there?" Garuru growled, fists clenching.

It made no sound, absolutely none, as it entered the room.

Garuru could see the blade glint in the pale light.

He immediately jumped out of the way, barely dodging the knife that had sunk into the bed he was currently lying in. His fingers twitched, preparing them to materialize a gun.

The Pekoponian slowly turned its head toward him, and he shuddered.

It had no eyes.

With one fell swoop the blade came into contact with his heart.

Garuru woke up with a start, absolutely real this time. He clutched at his chest and turned to the exact corner where he had seen the strange Pekoponian before.

"It was a dream," Garuru told himself soothingly. "Ridiculous. Nothing but a simple illusion when you sleep…"

But even he had trouble going to sleep that night…

"Lieutenant?"

Garuru gazed tiredly to his door, where a light blue Keronian stood.

"…First class private, correct?"

"Right…" Taruru said slowly, biting his lower lip.

"…What is it?"

"…Um. Can you… c-can you come with me please?"

"Yes, of course." Garuru carefully slid off his bed and wobbled a little, taking a second or two to adjust his step and find his place of balance.

Taruru tilted his head at this. "You okay, Lieutenant?"

"Yes…" Garuru murmured. "I'm just very drowsy. I didn't sleep well at all."

Taruru laughed dryly. "You and me both, chief."

Garuru opened his mouth to comment, but decided against it, not quite comfortable with speaking too in-depth with his platoon members just yet.

Tororo, Zoruru, and Pururu were already awake, each eating breakfast at the table in the kitchen.

"Yes?" Garuru asked the nurse politely. "You woke me up?"

Pururu blinked at him, surprised. "You just woke up?"

"…Yes," Garuru said slowly. "Yes, I did. Why do you ask?"

"…It's six in the morning, Lieutenant."

Garuru directed his attention to the time. "…Oh. It is."

"Are you… feeling alright, Lieutenant?" Pururu asked him. "You typically wake up a little earlier than all of us-"

"I'm fine," Garuru assured her. "I just had trouble sleeping last night."

"…I see."

"…Are you all alright?" the leader inquired to his team.

Zoruru fidgeted slightly, his metal clattering at his sudden movement. He huffed and looked to the side. "I'm alright."

"Me too…" Tororo said, embarrassed. His glasses slipped down for a still moment before he quickly pushed them back up to his face.

"…Very well then." Garuru sat down on the table. "You all do understand what needs to be completed today, correct?"

They all mumbled some sort of recognition of Garuru's command, and something felt very… _off _about this. Until then he was used to hear some sort of complaint with the chore they were assigned to, but now, they were just willing to do it. Or at least, _sounding _like they were willing to do it.

That didn't sound right at all.

* * *

"Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Lance Corporal?"

"…I have something to address to you."

Garuru turned his attention to the cybernetic ninja, who zipped from off the wall to the floor in front of him.

"Permission granted," the purple Keronian said after a small pause.

Zoruru gave him an almost sarcastic glare before catching himself and looking off warily to the side.

"…I believe there is something aboard with us on the ship."

"Why do you say that?"

"…I just have this… _feeling_," Zoruru said, unable to clearly express it through words. "On my meditating sessions, there is this presence…"

"Are you sure that it's just not ours, Lance Corporal?"

"No," Zoruru said with a slightly aggravated sigh. "I have your auras forever imprinted in my own. The one I felt before was… was different. It was unrecognizable, which is strange. It's there, but I can't… I can't _feel _it. All I know is that it's there. And it's making me uncomfortable."

"Hm," Garuru murmured. He suddenly put his hand on his own forehead.

Zoruru perked a brow. "…Is that supposed to be some sort of salut-?" He froze when the Lieutenant placed his hand on his temples. "…Lieutenant."

"Yes?"

"…What are you doing?"

"I'm checking to see if you have a fever," Garuru said, putting his hand back on his own forehead. "Normal temperature. Hm. ….Earlier, Chief Medic Pururu sent the two youngest ones off to bed. They claimed to have been… seeing some hallucinations prior. She dismissed it as a symptom from lack of sleep and made them get some rest."

"…And?"

"I request that you do the same as well."

"Garuru," Zoruru said testily, "I _felt _something."

"I never said you didn't," Garuru said with an equally testing voice. "But I want you to go to sleep too. Don't worry about the rest of the chores; I'll take over."

"Lieutenant-"

"Now I'm making it an _order, _Lance Corporal. Get some rest. _Now._"

Zoruru glared at him bitterly before he zipped off. Garuru sighed to himself.

He walked down the hall and picked up the roster from off the wall. He looked at the clipboard and frowned.

Paperwork.

Lovely.

* * *

"Oh. Chief Medic."

"Hello, Lieutenant," Pururu said brightly. She was signing things and organizing packets of paperwork orderly off to one side.

"You're… on my desk."

"Hm? O-oh!" Pururu blushed and hopped off his seat. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"

"It's fine," Garuru told her coolly. He looked down in admiration of the work she had done. "I must say. I really appreciate your doing this, Chief Medic."

"Y-you're welcome," she stammered, looking down. She bit her lower lip in thought, and stared at him for a while.

"…Yes, Chief Medic?"

"…Your… chair… do you want to move the desk a little more to the side?" Pururu suggested.

Garuru perked a brow. "I don't see the point."

"No, it's just… you're so close to the bookshelf," Pururu said, pointing at it. "You might bump your head against it."

Garuru rubbed his eyes. Was that… was that a shadow behind her just then?

"Lieutenant?"

"Hm?"

"…Should we move your table?"

"It's fine, Chief Medic," Garuru said dismissively. "I don't believe I'm going to-"

The phone bell rang.

_Bonk!_

Pururu winced, seeing Garuru duck slightly and hold his head from his self-inflicted injury. She made a small nervous giggle as she reached for the phone and picked it up.

"Hello? …. Is anyone…?" Her face eased into one of anxiousness, and then to one of fear. She hung up.

"Who was that?" Garuru muttered, the pain throbbing on his head.

"..Wrong number," Pururu murmured.

"…Chief Medic?"

"Mm?"

"Do you think there is something going on?"

Pururu turned to him and held his gaze, her purple eyes serious. "…Like what?"

"…Nothing. Never mind." His hands left his head and made their way to his face instead. He sighed.

"Lieutenant?" Pururu said quietly, "I think we all need some rest… we'll take care of it in the morning, alright?"

Garuru nodded. "…Very well."

* * *

"This is it," I said with a nod. "Sorry, Lieutenant. You can continue it after I get the oil for dad's truck."

Otto's Autos was the closest auto repair shop around. I walked inside the enormous garage and caught sight of a few people working on them, sliding under a vehicle and tinkering around with the mechanics. Old cars, new cars, toilets. It was pretty neat, even though I didn't have much of an interest in cars.

I text messaged my sister to ask what type of oil dad wanted and the brand that he in particular wanted; she had replied with an 'LOL no clue'.

Gee, she's so helpful.

"Can I help ya'll?"

"H-huh?" I made a small smile as a young girl walked up to me… taller than me.

Taruru asked when I was ever going to get a girlfriend. _Well. _She's going to be the first girl I can actually look at without tilting my head up to see them.

That'll be the day.

The girl in front of me had long red hair tied to a tight braid that hang loosely against her back, with dark eyes that focused on mine. She wore torn, faded overalls that were stained with black grease- her face was stained with grease too, come to mention it.

I smiled, trying not to stare too overtly. "Hi, um… my dad needs oil for the chains in his truck?"

"No problem," the girl said with a nod. "Come on over here and we'll have a look see at what we could find."

Garuru followed me, a small look of confusion etched on his face.

"Accent," I said in explanation. "Doesn't your planet have accents too-?"

"I beg yer pardon?"

The girl had stopped and spun to look at me, her gloves dangling from one of her hands. "You say somethin'?"

"N-no," I stammered. "N-no, I, um… that's a nice motorcycle." I pointed at one that leaned against the one of the walls.

The girl beamed. "Yup. That there's mine. Nice, right?"

"Oh, very," I said with a nod. I walked over to it and examined the sleek black motorcycle. "Wow. It's _really_ nice. I really love the design…"

"I've been takin' care of it fer a while now," the girl said with the most notable pride in her voice. She then looked me over, folding her arms. "Hey, wait. You look just 'bout my age. If not a little younger, that is."

"I'm seventeen."

The girl gawked. "Yer kiddin'! Yer about a year older than I am!"

"…Yeah, I get that a lot," I said shamefully. "I'm just really short."

"You'll grow," the girl said assuredly. She gave me her clean hand. "Hi. I'm Chevi. Like the car," she added, gesturing to the automotives behind her.

"I can see that," I said with a smile. "I'm Johnny."

"Ya go to Houston, Johnny?" she inquired.

"No, I don't."

"Oh. So ya don't live 'round here?"

"I do," I waved my arm slightly out. "I live like, somewhere out there."

Chevi's nose wrinkled a little at this. "Then, what school _do _ya go to?"

"I can't tell you. I work for the FBI."

Chevi stared at me before she got the joke and grinned. "Funny. Now, before I-"

"_It's you!"_

I yelped and hid cowardly behind the red haired girl as the brown-blond haired girl from several days back came up to me, glowering angrily at me.

"Whoa, Varidy! Calm down!" Chevi said soothingly, "What seems to be the matter?"

"Remember how I told you a little _kid _nearly made me fly off my bike?"

Ahaha. I was right. So very, very right. I could feel Garuru face palm as I ducked further behind Chevi.

"Wait. This is him?" Chevi glanced over her shoulder quizzically. "But he ain't a kid."

"Kid or not, I almost got killed because of him!" Varidy scowled.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I backed away from the two girls. "I-it was an accident! I-I, um… didn't know what happened-"

"See? He apologized for it already," Chevi said, gently placing a hand on Varidy's shoulder. "Just calm down."

"…He complimented your motorcycle, didn't he?"

"He's a customer," Chevi replied. She pointed at me cheerfully. "I'll go get you that oil."

She left, leaving me with… Varidy.

"I'm sorry," I repeated needlessly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"I heard you," Varidy said. "And you already told me you weren't going to do it again. I'm just making sure."

I nodded timidly, my face pink. "S-so… um… you… work here?"

Varidy shook her head. "No. My friend Chevi does. She just fixes up my own bike when something happens."

"Something happen to your bike this time?"

"No. You weren't there."

"I'm sorry."

"…I'm willing to put that all behind you if you'll just stop apologizing."

"I'm s-…. shutting up."

"Thank you." Varidy moved her school bag to an opposite shoulder. "Let's try to start over a little. Back off from that accident, pretend it never happened -just don't do it again-… Hi. I'm Varidy. And you are?"

"Johnny," I said slowly, amazed that she was able to get over that so quickly despite being so angry earlier. "I'm Johnny." I accepted her hand when she offered it to me.

"So how old are you?" Varidy asked me after she pulled back her own arm. "Chevi said you weren't a kid, even though you do look like one… how old are you really?"

"…Seventeen."

"…No kidding?"

"No." I've had this conversation too many times. "I'm just a really short person."

"Interesting-"

"Here's the oil," Chevi told me. "That'll be $26.35."

I pulled the wallet from the back of my pocket and held out her several crisp, old bills before pausing. "Is this the cheapest one you have?"

"It's the _only_ one we have."

I sighed. "Okay, then. Here." I gave her the money and held on to the bottle of oil.

"It was nice to meet you, Johnny," Varidy said dismissively, following Chevi.

"…_I want my change back_!"

* * *

"…That wasn't unusual," Garuru said when we left the garage.

"Yeah," I said tiredly. I yawned. "When I get home, can I _please _go to sleep, Lieutenant?"

"No."

Oh. _Right. _"_Fine._"

"Should I continue where I left off?"

"Sure."

* * *

Someone's scream pierced through the night.

"Chief Medic," Garuru breathed, whipping the sheets from off his body and heading to the hallway. He materialized an entire set of guns and had them hover above him, just in case. Taruru and Zoruru met up with him, similar grim and fearful expressions on their faces.

"_Pururu!_" Taruru cried out, slamming the door open. "_What_…"

They all stared blankly, tiredly, at Pururu, who was sitting up, her hands in front of her.

"…O-oh…" Pururu whispered, a rosy blush staining her cheeks.

Garuru dissolved his weapons, and the others put their own down.

"…Sorry," Pururu said quietly. "I… didn't mean…"

"It's fine," Garuru muttered, exhausted. "You just had a nightmare… it's typical in a platoon as overworked as we are."

"Did you just say _overworked_?" Taruru grinned. "Wow. That's probably the first time I've ever heard you agree with us, Lieutenant."

"Now's not the time for jokes, Private," Garuru frowned. He looked at Zoruru. "I believe I now agree with what you told me, and I apologize for not making more of an effort to ease everyone else's nerves. That wasn't responsible of me. Now." He turned to the rest of his platoon, including Tororo, who timidly walked in that moment. "Who else has had some interesting nightmares that they would like to share?"

"…There's this… Pekoponian…" Taruru began slowly, and all the members of the platoon shot their attention toward them. For once, the private seemed uncomfortable at this. "…What?"

"Did he… have no eyes?" Tororo asked him.

"Did he look kinda shadowy?" Pururu prompted.

"Did he have a weapon?" Zoruru inquired.

"Y-yes… yes to all of that," Taruru said with a nod. "How did you know?"

None of them said anything, because they all knew what everyone else was thinking; they were all dreaming the same thing.

Tororo shivered at this realization and immediately pulled his laptop from his side to his knees as he sat down on the floor.

"…Do you mind if I take a look at that, New Recruit?"

"Huh? O-oh. Yeah."

Garuru gently took the computer from him and sat down beside him, his fingers tapping against the keyboard. On the screen, _HQ Information Board _stretched against a banner, and various categories were lined beneath it. The Lieutenant clicked on 'search' and typed in 'similar nightmare'.

Ten topics came up.

"The rabbit dream, the parrot dream, the shoe dream, the dream dream," Tororo read out loud. He shook his head and leaned back down to his seat on the floor. "I don't understand what you're trying to look for, Lieutenant-"

"The Seekonians," Garuru murmured, clicking on the link. His visor reflected off the article, including a box that said inside, 'no visible photograph recorded'. He skimmed through it, picking out only the most vital parts of the article. "'Seekonians are enemies of the Meronians… though there have been reports of attacks of Seekonians on Keronians due to their similar appearances. Seekonians are Pekoponian-like creatures that completely immerse themselves in the shadows, as they have no physical body of their own. They naturally have a very weak existence, but they have the ability to disorient their victims through the use of nightmares and fear by manipulating the brainwaves around them. They use this ability to drive their enemies insane."

"…Goodness," Pururu said softly, horrified.

"We need to keep our wits about us," Garuru said, handing back the laptop to Tororo. "Here. Thank you."

"N-no problem…" Tororo said, clutching onto the closed computer against his chest. "S-so that means…"

"We have an intruder in our spaceship," Zoruru confirmed. He folded his arms. "Yes. In order to…" His eyes dimmed and he suddenly lost conciousness, falling to the floor.

Pururu yelped and ran to his aid, waving her hand over his face in an effort to wake him up.

"We're under attack," Garuru growled. He materialized a gun. "Everyone, prepare yourselves for battle! We are dealing with an unknown entity; we must be strong."

Pururu's eyes widened. "Tororo!"

The young tadpole fell flat against the floor, Taruru being next. Pururu was desperately hopping to each member, shaking their shoulders and pleading with them to wake up.

Garuru quietly walked up to her and gently squeezed her own shoulder, startling her. "Pururu, please calm down… It will be alright."

Pururu snapped her head toward Garuru, eyes wide. "…Did you just call me…?"  
Her voice faded soon after his moment of comfort, however; just as quickly as the colors all faded to black…

He was running. Sprinting, dodging.

There were times when he wouldn't even look back, even though something would beckon him toward it with a lulling voice.

He ran into the monster several times.

Why was he so afraid?

This 'monster' was something that he normally found in horror movies, something that he wasn't even _remotely _afraid of.

But why was he scared of… _this? _

What felt like hours were spent of opening and locking doors, hiding through close spaces, cursing at his wretched hand for not materializing any of his desired weapons.

The shadows, he felt, were laughing at him. They danced under his feet, they slicked across the wall, they bled onto the ceiling. They were everywhere, chasing him, taunting him, laughing.

What was he really afraid of?

His real fear stabbed at his heart. He had _reason _to be scared of this, but not at this monster.

The knife glinted again, its sharp blade, positioned roughly toward him-

Garuru dodged again.

It knicked the wall. He was unable to suppress a shudder.

….Wait. Of course. Pain, death. All natural emotions, all natural adrenaline to feel, that makes the Keronian body flee or fight.

But… he was asleep, wasn't he…?

Didn't he just see the others lose consciousness…?

And if this was a dream…

Garuru spun around and faced the Seekonian, gazing at it bitterly. It only rose the blade above its shoulder, prepare to strike.

"I'm _not _afraid of you," Garuru snarled.

It twitched, completely in suspended animation. A loud shriek was emitted from this creature, one of absolute horror and anger. He had to cover his ears, the sound so painful he was honestly worried it would make them bleed.

Garuru woke up to his ears ringing.  
Woke up to Pururu sleeping against his chest, too.

He hastily and gently pushed himself off of her, and examined his platoon members that were still currently on the floor. He sighed heavily and ran his hand against his head.

In order for them to wake up from this nightmare, they had to come to the same conclusion he did. The only thing to fear was fear itself, correct?

Garuru wondered how long it would take them to realize this. He sighed again.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

"No."

"Please Lieutenant?"

Garuru gazed uncomfortably at his three platoon members, one of which was hanging from his ceiling somewhere.

"You have a big enough bed," Taruru said cheerily, sitting down on the mattress.

"I-it's not like I'm _scared_," Tororo said pointedly, folding his arms as he tried to hide the embarrassed expression on his face. "But it's, um…" He sagged his shoulders slightly. "It feels nice to be protected after a day like today… right?"

Garuru let out a deep breath and subtly rolled his eyes, moving aside to make room. The three platoon members stood frozen, abashed by his action. It only lasted about three seconds, though, before they all piled in with him.

Zoruru was still in the ceiling, though, not that Garuru minded. As much as would have denied it, he couldn't deny- to himself- just how comfortable he was with everyone huddled close together that night.

There was no breaking away from the thought that, perhaps, maybe, just maybe, they were growing to be closer after all.

* * *

"That's… really sweet, Lieutenant," I said with a smile, tossing the rolled up plastic bag in the trash.

"…Go."

"…What?"

"Now."

"…Fine."

I grudgingly took the box I had poorly attempted to hide away from the Lieutenant and left the room.

"By the way, Cadet."

I stopped midway and gazed inside my room.

Garuru was assembling a gun. "New Recruit received another simulation from the Sergeant Major."

"…Oh," I said in realization. "That makes sense. So that's why you wanted to train me this morning."

"Precisely," Garuru shook his head, however. "Though your performance was lower than I had wanted it to be, I can still find satisfaction in your… punishment." He smirked.

"Haha," I said sarcastically, leaving the room. "Laugh it up, Lieutenant…"

* * *

**Garuru's story of the day is actually inspired of "**_A day in the life of Pururu" _**written by The-Derp-We-Call-Taruru.** **Her version is in Pururu's point of view, this one is written in Garuru's XD Still, the idea is all their's, and not mine. **

**Anyway! I finally introduce some of the characters I should have introduced a long time ago! ...I'm sorry. **

**They'll have a bigger installment later, though, at more organized, and not all clumped together in one chapter like this XD**

**What was Johnny's 'punishment'...?**

**...**

**See ya next chapter!**


	29. Lost and Found- Pt 1

**DAY TWENTY-SEVEN, WORD TWENTY-SEVEN: LOST AND FOUND**

* * *

I stared at myself in the mirror, my palms against the sink.

…I don't think I could get used to this, even if it was just for several weeks.

"Cadet."

I sighed. "I'm coming… Let me go put on a hat first." Garuru watched me amusedly as I hastily slipped a red one on. "It rained last night, and it's pretty cloudy and windy. Again, I don't think you should worry too much about the dryness today."

"That's fortunate."

"Yeah, it is." I paused, and then kneeled down to look at something that was sticking randomly out of my bed (I typically stuff things down there subconsciously… when I lose something, it's sometimes the go-to place to look). "Oh. Hey, Lieutenant! I found it!"

"Found… what?" Garuru asked me, tilting his head slightly.

"The letter," I said as I pulled it out. "Wow. It's still in really good condition, too."

"From the Chief Medic?"

"Yeah, it is." I handed it to him, and he curiously took it. "You should probably read it now, since we're going to go see them in a bit anyway."

Garuru nodded and carefully ripped the side of the envelope, tugging a few sheets of paper out. He placed the envelope on my bed and unfolded the sheets of paper, taking a moment to read its content. He was silent as he went through them, and I waited patiently, looking at the mirror and turning side to side to make sure it wasn't visible.

"…Let's go," Garuru said finally, folding the letter and tucking it back in its envelope.

"What was it for?" I inquired.

"..Business affairs, Cadet. Nothing too out of the ordinary."

* * *

Ruby was the first one there, lying on top of the picnic table. She was listening to her music, nodding her head to the beat. She glanced up at me before I had the chance to surprise her. Darn.

"Hey, Johnny," she said cheerfully, taking off her earpiece. "I like your hat!"

"Hi," I responded shyly. "Um. Thanks. I, uh, like my hat too…"

"Chief Medic," Garuru said with a salute.

"Hi…" Pururu's voice ran out as soon as she saw what was in Garuru's hand. She blushed heavily and held her breath, gazing at him hopefully, her eyes sparkling. "Y-you… you read it?"

"Yes," Garuru said slowly, gazing at it. "I did. And I must say… very well done."

"…Excuse me?"

"Are these not copies of the reports you were supposed to send to Headquarters?"

"…_What?!_" Pururu looked absolutely horrified. She grabbed the envelope out of his hand and read through them, her face turning white as she desperately looked through the pages. "S-so… that is… the actual letter…?!"

"What do you think the Sim will be this time?" I asked Ruby, who was watching Pururu crawl under the table.

"I hope it's something fun," Ruby replied, gazing back at me. "And I hope we don't have to die."

"It'll be nice to have everyone together too, that is," I said with a small smile.

"Hey!"

Ruby and I turned respectively to Stella as she walked toward us, one arm wrapped around her black sketchbook, another waving eagerly in the air. "Hi!"

"Hey," Ruby and I said simultaneously.

"Look," Stella said excitedly, opening her book. She carefully pulled out two sheets of paper and gave them to us. "Here. I made these a while ago."

"Oh, I remember this," I said, raising my eyebrows. She had shown me the sketch at school; she had drawn- very well, too- the five us with the Garuru Platoon in the attire that we had worn when we had done the Fairytale simulation. The one I was looking at was the finalized copy, colored digitally. "Wow. You've really outdone yourself with this, Stella."

I saw her flush with pride, a wide grin growing on her face. "Thanks!"

"This is really good!" Ruby said, gaping. "I didn't know you could draw!"

"She makes comics too," I told her, nodding to my friend. "They're funny. I like reading them."

"…Did you see?" Stella asked suddenly, her smile stretching against her lips as her eyes came to contact with my hat.

"…Did I see… what?" Ruby questioned, confused.

Stella pointed at me. "Did you see Johnny's-"

"_Not a word_!" I said, cutting her off.

Ruby gazed at me mischievously. "…What happened?"

"N-nothing," I stammered.

"They're going to find out eventually," Stella told me with a little giggle.

"…What happened, Johnny?"

I sighed and drooped my shoulders. "I lost a bet."

"With… Stella?"

"No. I lost a bet with the Lieutenant."

Ruby turned to the purple Keronian, who was watching Pururu pull dandelions out of the grass under the table and blow them into the wind in her depression.

"_Garuru?_"

"Yeah," I sighed, deciding to tell them anyway; Stella was right, after all. If not now, then later, and I guess it would be easier just to get out with it. "To train me for the simulations, he made me take target practice. To motivate me, we made a bet. If I met his 'quota', then he promised he would do anything I asked him to do. But if I didn't meet my quota…"

Ruby stared at me. "…What did he make you do?"

"Well, I-"

I felt someone lunge from behind me and seize my red cap. Blond hair spilled out and fell over my face, and I immediately spun around to face Rita, who was holding my hat, her eyes enormous with shock.

"He made you _dye your hair_?" Rita asked, biting her lower lip to keep the laughter from coming out.

"…It looks good on you," Ruby said, smiling.

"It does, doesn't it?" Stella chirped. I felt my face redden with humiliation as she patted my head. "I keep telling him that but he doesn't believe me."

"All you need now is to grow out your hair, braid it in the back, and develop a short temper," Rita said suddenly. "And then you'd be complete."

"…Huh?"

"Full Metal Alchemist reference," Kitty said off-handedly, gazing at me with a similar entertained glint in her eye. "But seriously, Johnny; you don't look that bad. It could've been worse… Garuru could have dared you to dye your hair pink or something."

"And it looks natural," Stella added. "No one would probably have even thought it was dyed unless you told them."

While I appreciated all their efforts to try and comfort me I ended up grabbing the hat from Rita and tucking all my hair into it anyway.

"Now you just look bald," Taruru said, startling me from the side. "I think you should just keep it off."

"Besides," Tororo said, sitting down with the SimCube. "Who knows what the old man has planned for us; he might make you take off your hat anyway."

"I have a theory that he's secretly into cosplay," Kitty told us, her finger in the air. "I actually wrote a fan fiction about it."

"…Fan fiction?" I repeated.

"Yeah. He reviewed it, too."

"What'd he say?" Rita asked.

"'You fail'."

Rita patted her sister's back sympathetically.

"_Can we get back to the simulation?_" Zoruru asked impatiently. Wow. I seriously keep forgetting that he's with us too. "I'd like to get this stupid thing over with as fast as possible."

"True," Garuru sighed. "And similarly, I hope Kururu has learned to not make a joke out of the matter."

"Don't count on that, chief," Taruru snickered.

Tororo rolled his eyes and picked up the SimCube to give it to Garuru. "Here. You can press it."

It looked the same as the first SimCube, though the button on top of it was a different symbol- it had the picture of a heart on it.

All of us gathered around, Garuru looking about us carefully. He took a deep breath, and then pressed the button.

We were consumed by yet another white flash.

* * *

_Ten students from Animaux High were chosen selectively to participate in a social experiment that will be proven useful for our government records._

_Animals around the globe were beginning to grow intelligence, beginning to grow sentience. Ones that were easily able to communicate with humans and form basic relationships were shipped to Animaux Zoo, just across the high school where we will begin our social experiment._

_Is it really possible to form more than just a basic relationship, or will they always remain as beasts with no soul, completely void of the emotion that is so commonly associated with the cherished rush of human love..?_

* * *

My first thought was: _Great. _Tororo was right. I sighed and brushed back my stupid blond hair away with my fingers.

"Yup. This just about confirms my theory."

I gazed at Kitty, who was wearing something that I normally connected with an anime girl uniform; a white and navy sailor shirt with a navy sailor skirt slightly above her knees. The other girls, including Pururu, were wearing the same thing.

Which means that _I'm _probably wearing-

Yup.

A navy uniform that I typically connected from an anime: a long-sleeved standing collar buttoning down from top-to-bottom, with long dark pants and sensible brown shoes. And judging how I could hear Tororo and Zoruru complain about the so-called tasteless outfits, I assumed they were wearing the same thing.

And I was right.

Garuru stared at himself irritably, blowing the small blue hat that had his insignia as a button away from his face. Taruru really looked like he didn't care; if anything, I think he was enjoying himself a little too much with his own uniform… and like I said before, Zoruru and Tororo really didn't like their own.

"What kind of game is this?" I asked, looking at my sleeves.

"It's a dating sim," Tororo and Kitty said at the same time. The girl looked down at her Keronian partner in disbelief.

"How the heck did _you _know?" Kitty inquired.

Tororo's face reddened. "_I get bored, okay?!_" He waved his tiny fist in the air. "Besides, pu! I only play to break girls' hearts. It's fun watching them cry."

"You're so evil."

"A… dating sim?" I tilted my head. "What's a dating sim?"

"It's basically a game where you try to woo these girls to get them to go out with you," Stella explained to me. "I don't really play them a lot, but they're referenced a lot in anime."

"Oh," I made a face. "..Wait. How do you guys know this is a _dating _sim?"

"The intro in the beginning," Kitty piped up. "Didn't you hear it?"

"Yeah, but I assumed it was some sort of like, zoo simulation or something."

"He has a point," Ruby spoke up. "It never really outright stated that it was going to be a _dating _sim…"

"It's a dating sim, ku-ku!"

I yelped and fumbled back, falling on my rear. "Will you _stop _doing that?!"

Kururu's device hovered around carelessly. He shrugged. "Ku-ku. I will when it stops being fun."

"But… the setting takes place in a _zoo?_" Rita wrinkled her nose. "Are we going to have to date _animals?_"

"This is Saburo, ku," Kururu addressed, gesturing to his right side. A young man with white hair and bright blue eyes walked up to us, wearing a dark green uniform. He had a small necklace with a key dangling from it.

"Saburo?" I looked up at Kururu quizzically.

"I've decided that I don't like him," Kitty said suddenly. She frowned at this and made a face as she mused, "I don't know why."

"Ku-ku~ Saburo, explain."

"Hi, I'm Saburo," the boy said, flashing a warm smile. "And I'm the zoo keeper for Animaux Zoo. I'm basically in charge of everything."

"Is this an actual person?" I asked Kururu.

"Ku! No. He's a Non-Player Character."

"Oh." I blinked at Saburo uncertainly. "Um. Okay. I'm sorry, you could go on."

Saburo continued on without breaking a sweat, "I'm basically responsible for the animals and all that. I also make sure that you guys know the rules. There are ten of you, and nine animals. You have to learn about them, get to know them, get… close to them, if you know what I mean." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, this is all for a social experiment. Make them fall in love with you, and write of your experiences. You will report your findings about this experiment and send it to the government. See that?" He pointed a tall clock tower in the center of the zoo that we could all see. "That tells you the time. You have _one week _to complete your objective. Now please note, _all _of you have to complete your objective before the time runs out, or it's game over."

"_One week?_" I asked dubiously. "We're seriously going to be here for one whole week?!"

"No, Johnny," Stella said with a giggle, "I'm pretty sure it's based on video game time."

"It is," Kururu said, staring in utter incredulity at my sheer stupidity. "…Ku! Adding on to what Saburo said, You don't _really _have to 'report your findings', ku. But in order to beat the simulation, you need to do one of two things, dependent on whether you're a female or a male. If you are a male, you must get the girl to give you a kiss on the cheek. If you are a female, you must get the boy to give you a gift. Ku-ku~! Doesn't that sound delightful~?"

"It sounds more like bestiality," Stella said flatly.

"Ku-ku~ all the more fun for to me watch," Kururu said with a grin. He pressed a button, and thin Ipad-esque things materialized in front of us. It floated before us until we reached for it and held it.

As soon as I grabbed mine, the screen lit up and showed me an entire map of the zoo. The following were listed at a tab on the side: elephant(F), bear(F), penguin(M), spider(M), chimpanzee(M), peacock(M), catfish(F), shrike(M), and unicorn(F).

…_Unicorn? _

I stared at that. What.

"We don't have to like… _make out _with any of them?" Ruby asked cautiously.

"Ku-ku, no," Kururu shook his head. "Like I said; in order to complete the game you all must accomplish at least one of two things; a kiss on the cheek or a gift from the animal."

"I'm _not _going to do this," Zoruru hissed. "I'm going to try and find a way out of here." He _zipped _off before Garuru was given a chance to reprimand him.

The purple Keronian sighed. "It doesn't seem like we have much of a choice, then," Garuru said blandly.

"But… what about Zoruru?" I asked worriedly.

"I'm sure he'll come to his senses when he realizes that there is no way out." Garuru suddenly paused and frowned, counting the animals on the screen.

"I've got dibs on the penguin!" Stella said, raising her hand up in the air.

"I guess spiders are cool," Rita mused. "Too bad there aren't any frogs, though."

"And I suppose I'll take the peacock, whatever that is," Pururu said.

"_Peacock?_" Taruru stared at the screen. "…What an unfortunate name."

"Taruru..." Rita said with a sigh, face palming.

"I've got the shrike!" Ruby cried out.

"So, wait… I guess that leaves me with the chimpanzee then?" Kitty pushed up her glasses. "Um. Okay, I guess…"

"C'mon, Pururu," Ruby said, taking Pururu by the hand and dragging her away.

"Yeah, we should get started," Stella agreed. She gazed up at the clock. "We're all being timed for this, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'll join up with you later."

"I've always really liked elephants," Taruru said brightly. "Elephants are those long animals with the black faces and the small ears, right?"

"…No, just… no," Rita laughed. "C'mon, I'll show you."

"Maybe you could get the bear," Kitty suggested to Tororo. "You like teddy bears, don't you?"

"_What?_" Tororo gave her a strange look. "Where did you get that from?"

"I don't know. I made it up just now." They walked off, their conversation about bears degrading into one about jelly worms and mustard.

"What's wrong, Lieutenant?" I tilted my head. "You not sure what to-?"

"There's only nine animals."

"…What?"

"Nine animals, ten of us," Garuru repeated. "I thought I had misheard, or the boy had perhaps misspoken, but here… there are only nine animals. How are we supposed to reach our objective if one of us cannot?"

"…True…" I said, eyes widening as I took a closer look at my own screen.

"Ku-ku! Because I have a very special objective for _you, _Lieutenant~"

Garuru turned his attention to Kururu, who was grinning widely with that freakishly freaky smile of his.

"…Special… objective?"

"Correct, ku-ku-ku!" Kururu pressed another button, and Garuru's tablet, in contrast to mine, suddenly gained a tenth spot on his tab.

Pururu.

"What is the meaning of this?" Garuru growled.

"Ku! I just thought it would make things more interesting," Kururu stopped to cackle at this. "More fun for me to watch, anyway. Now." He pointed down at Garuru's iPad-thingie. "_You _are the only one who can accomplish that one task, as you are the only one with that option. If you don't pursue Pururu and get her to kiss your cheek, then you don't finish the game, hence having to start the whole thing over."

"But that doesn't make any sense," I said, confused. "Why Pururu?"

Kururu rested his chin against his hands. "Are you jealous, Cadet~?"

"…What?" I blinked at him, taking a second too late to realize his indication. I felt my face burn heavily. "_No! _No, I'm _not!_ I-it's just it doesn't make any sense-"

"Ku-ku. I don't know. I'm the creator of the game; that automatically makes me boss."

I sighed. True.

"So~!" Kururu smirked. "Have fun, Lieutenant~"

The screen flashed off.

"…So…" I said awkwardly.

"It's nothing to be too worried about," Garuru said after a particular thought. "I'll go find her now."

"Um… _bye._" He just walked off. I mildly rolled my eyes to the sky before I looked at my tablet. I guess that leaves me with…

Wait. I have to woo a _unicorn?_!

…Well. A unicorn or a catfish.

….

I'm choosing the unicorn.

Great. The only thing that could possibly make this worse was if the unicorn hated blondes…

* * *

"_Ew. _A _blonde. _Like, get it _away _from me."

First off: the animals could talk, which means you could hear what they're actually saying.

This _unicorn _hated _blondes. _

"I'm a brunette," I said in explanation. I laughed weakly, "I just, uh, I lost a bet."

"_Ew. _Like, you lost a bet? _Ew, _just, _ew._"

I folded my arms, feeling my cheeks turn red as I tried to hold back the urge to walk away. I cleared my throat. "Hi. I'm Johnny. And what's your name?"

"I'm like, a unicorn!" the horned horse gushed.

"…Nice," I said slowly. I gave her a small smile. "Um… so, do you, like… have a name?"

"_Are you mocking me?!_" The horse made a loud _neigh _and reared it's head, jumping onto its hind legs and waving its forelegs in front of me.

I squeaked and took several steps away from her. _Maybe _I should just… yeah. Backing away…

I glanced down at the 'map' in my hands. The nice thing about it was it also gave you some sort of indication where the others were; it was displayed through the use of an insignia. Unfortunately, seeing as we were just mere Pekoponians, we didn't have any symbols to represent us on our own, meaning we shared the symbol with our Keronian partner. So if I saw two insignias walking my walk, I only had half a chance that the one I think I'm going to bump into is right.

I saw Garuru's symbol near the unicorn pen; I decided to take a look see at what he was doing, at least until the unicorn cooled off.

..Wait. Next to the word unicorn was the word 'acquaintance'.

Maybe this represented their feelings toward you? Hm. Acquaintance…

Not exactly vying for my attention but it was a start.

"…I don't understand."

I peeked around the corner, hearing Garuru's voice, hiding behind one of the walls.

The Lieutenant's back was toward me, but from his firm, erect posture I knew he meant serious business.

"I just… _can't _right now, Lieutenant," Pururu said, biting her lower lip. She looked almost… anxious, her eyes darting around her. "I can't. I have to go-"

"All that is required is a kiss on the cheek, correct?"

"…Well… y-yes…" Pururu stammered, "B-but I can't. Not right now." She shook her head and dashed off, Garuru stunned by her sudden leave. He watched her idly, a confused expression etched on his face.

"…What happened?" I asked, walking up from behind him.

"…I simply asked if she would give me a kiss on the cheek," Garuru murmured.

"That's cheating, Lieutenant," I teased, a small grin on my face. "I think you'll have to start over with Pururu like we all are."

"…Start… over?"

"Yeah. Like, I nearly got my head bashed in by a creature that doesn't even _exist. _I have to woo her into liking me." I paused at a thought. "Maybe… maybe Pururu's data was reprogrammed just like the other animals in this game… kind of like when Tororo's character was programmed to be scared of wolves. Remember that?"

Garuru nodded at this. "…I see. Very… well, then." He seemed uncomfortable. "…What exactly is the definition of 'woo', Cadet?"

"I, um… I don't know," I blushed. "The last time I had a girlfriend was when I was in kindergarten, and even that lasted for a few days… Oh. I have an idea." I looked down at him. "Why don't we ask the others? They might have a better idea on how this game works."

"…Yes. Alright."

* * *

"Lance Corporal."

Zoruru was staring down morosely at a pen, his eye grim.

"…What are you doing?" Garuru inquired.

Zoruru scowled- or, at least, I got the essence that he did- and turned to face us. He _hmphed. _"There was no way out. I had no choice but to conform to the rules of this game."

"…So who are you going after?" I asked, leaning to look at the animal in the pen. I coughed to keep back the chuckles. "_A catfish?_"

"It was the only one left," Zoruru mumbled, irritated. He glanced down at his pad. "But thus far I've gained her acquaintanceship."

"Nice," I said with a small grin. "I got the unicorn. And same here. Though, I had to leave because she was getting mad at me."

"And you, if I may ask, Lieutenant?" Zoruru asked him.

Garuru showed him his tablet. The cybernetic ninja glanced down at it and did a double take, grabbing it to look at it closer.

"_Pururu?_"

"Yes," Garuru said slowly.

"…Well that's easy," Zoruru muttered. "All you have to do is ask her, right-?"

"No," the purple Keronian said, taking the tablet back. "I have to try and… 'woo' her, like all of you."

"…Really."

"Yes. For some reason, she seemed rather uncomfortable when I went up to her."

"You have to start somewhere," I said with a small shrug. I gazed down at Garuru's screen. "There's nothing beside Pururu, not even 'acquaintance'. You can start by gaining that."

"And… how do I gain 'acquaintanceship'?"

"Well, I talked to the unicorn."

"As did I…The catfish, I mean." We heard it splash in the water. Zoruru peered back over to look at it, a visible annoyance on his face.

"Let's go find the others," I said, gently nudging Garuru on the shoulder. "We can get some sort of hint from them."

"Tororo said he played these… dating sims, correct?"

"…Yeah. You're right." I went back to the map on my screen and examined it carefully. The Tororo symbols were very close together; most likely the tadpole and Kitty were in the same area.

…Wooing a chimpanzee and a bear. Hm.

* * *

"Yo," I said, gazing around Kitty to look at her screen. She jumped, surprised. "Whoa, hey! You're already all the way up to 'friend'? … _How?_"

"You talk to them a lot," Kitty said in explanation. "You have to say _just _the right thing, or else their relationship with you doesn't improve."

"…Really," Garuru said slowly. "Hm."

"Like…?" I trailed off, gazing at her quizzically. "What do you mean? Can you give me an example?"

"Sure," Kitty said. She went back to the chimpanzee, who was scratching his head. "This is Henry. Hi, Henry!"

"Hi," he said, waving its long arm. He bent it back to scratch his elbow. "Don't you hate it when bugs crawl all over you?"

"Yeah, it's very uncomfortable," Kitty agreed.

The chimpanzee smiled. "I'm glad someone you say so! No one else thinks that way…."

"See," Kitty said. "You have to say _just _the right thing. Sometimes he… though I guess in you guys' situations it would be a she… would want you to agree with them. Or, depending on the character, you have to disagree with them every so often." She pointed at her screen. "When it gets to 'friend', you can give them gifts, and their attraction for you rises."

I shivered. "You're awfully, uh… nonchalant about this whole thing."

"I play the games occasionally," Kitty replied. "I'm actually pretty good at them." She pulled her hands behind her back. "Who are you trying to go after?"

"…A unicorn."

She grinned. "What's her name?"

"She hasn't told me yet," I said, shaking my head. "She got very angry at me."

"Oh? What for?"

"I don't know!"

"Girls," Tororo scoffed from behind me, chewing on some popcorn.

"Where did you find that?" I pointed at the little red and white striped bucket he was carrying.

Tororo gulped the treat down. "I found it in Giftie's Gift Shop."

"You're not supposed to be eating that," Kitty said disapprovingly. "You were supposed to give it to Lady."

"Lady?" I repeated.

"The bear."

"…_Oh._"

"And what about you, Garuru?" Kitty asked, looking down at the purple frog.

Garuru seemed slightly embarrassed about the matter. He looked down and said softly, "…Pururu."

Tororo hacked on his popcorn, thrusting his fist against his chest.

"Woot! Shipping dream come true!" Kitty said, eyes sparkling.

"…I beg your pardon?"

"Now if only we could somehow bring Chiroro down here," Kitty murmured, her glasses turning glossy as she suddenly became immersed in thought. "Oh! Another fan fiction idea! _Brilliant!_"

"_Now look what you've done!_" Tororo cried out as soon as he was able to breathe again. "_You're giving her ideas!_"

Oops. "Sorry."

"Yeah, _SORRY MY CLASS!_"

"I think I'm just going to get out of here," I said with a weak laugh, yet again having to break away from the scene. _Yippee. _

Garuru followed after me absentmindedly. "…I believe I'm going to have to do it."

"Hm?" I glanced down at him. "Do what?"

"I'm… going to have to woo the Chief Medic."

Oh, this should be fun. Not that… I would let him know, of course. "Try calling her by her name, Lieutenant."

Garuru blinked at me. "…First name?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "When you call each other on a first name basis, doesn't it typically mean you're already close?"

He tightened his lips to a thin frown. "…Perhaps."

…For some reason, now I'm feeling bad that I call him Lieutenant. But then… at the same time, he calls me Cadet… hm. Maybe formalities are better in a relationship (if you can even call it that) like ours.

I gazed down at my tablet and saw Pururu's symbol near a long, thin spooky looking tree. "I think that's her. Are you going to…?"

Garuru gave me a side glance. "I would appreciate it if you didn't meddle in my affairs."

I blushed heavily. "I'm sorry."

He grunted. "I'm… going to find the Chief Medic."

"Pururu," I reminded him.

"…Pururu," Garuru said slowly, as if the very name was foreign enough for him to be self-conscious about saying it correctly.

"…I may be an idiot, Lieutenant, but I don't mind helping you out."

"I understand that perfectly, Cadet," he responded crisply. He sighed. "You're already demonstrating that trait by appearing in this game- all of you are."

I opened my mouth to say something when a flash of reddish-orange caught my attention. I turned around.

Nothing was there.

"…Cadet?"

"Y-yeah?"

"…Is something wrong?"

"…No. I… guess not."

* * *

Her name was Casey.

I guess she was very pretty for an animal. She had a white coat with a black mane, her blue horn coming out in a sort of long, thin swirl that resembled a seashell. She had dark, plain eyes…

But boy. She _loved _to talk.

"And, I was like, '_no way'_, and she was like '_yes way_' and then he was like, '_totally_'," Casey said, explicating the tiniest of details at the horse pen a few miles from here. She gave me something of a classy sigh. "It's like, so _hard _to be a unicorn, Johnny. You have, like, no idea!"

"I can only imagine," I said with a small smile, leaning against the fence. "Especially a beautiful one at that."

"Ew. That was like, so corny."

I felt sweat slip down my cheek. "Y-yeah. You're right. Ignore that."

How humiliating.

"It's getting late," Casey said, tipping her nose up toward the sky. "I'm going to like, turn in." She turned around and galloped away without even bothering to say anything.

"…Good night?" I attempted.

No reply came.

Why am I such an idiot?

"Any luck, Blondie?"

I looked over my shoulder, seeing Taruru with a stuffed bear in hand. "Don't call me that, please."

"Okay," Taruru mused for a moment. "How about Goldie Locks?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh. Rita was wondering where you were."

At least _someone _worries about me. I ran my hands against my hair. "Where is everyone?"

"We're at the Motel Animaux," Taruru replied. "Hm. Lots of 'animaux' being thrown around, huh?"

"I'm not surprised," I said with a small shrug, following him. "'Animaux' means 'animal' in French."

"Really? Huh. I guess you really do learn something everyday." Taruru skipped over to several big rocks and jumped on them, balancing himself before going to the next one.

"Be careful," I said worriedly.

"Relax," Taruru said with a grin, "Keronians have tough skulls. Like, _tough. _How else do you think we make it alive through comic relief?"

I laughed lightly. "I guess I did wonder about that…"

"See? You learn something new everyday." Taruru stopped and stood on his tiptoes, squinting his eyes and leaning forward. "…Huh. I wonder what Zoruru is doing over there."

"…Zoruru?"

"Yeah. He looks like he's… watching something." Taruru skidded off the boulder and landed beside me. "Let's go check it out!"

* * *

The sun was coming down, turning the sky into a rich, dark pink color as it beckoned the black of the night to fall. Zoruru was standing on the branch of a tree, leaning his shoulder against it, his arms folded in on each other. Taruru turned to me and put his finger on his lips, as if he expected me to give our position away.

I think I might've found that ironic if I wasn't Johnny Cadet.

Taruru and I hid in the tree behind Zoruru's, peering curiously at whatever he was looking at.

It was Garuru and Pururu, sitting down on the bench near _Giftie's Gift Shop._ The lamppost above them had flickered on, giving the scene a warm glow over them.

Garuru was relaxed, his foot resting above his knee, his arms also folded in on each other, his back against the chair. Pururu, on the other hand, looked more nervous than anything; she was fidgeting, her wrists at her knees, her back completely erect.

"What was it that you needed me for, Lieutenant?" Pururu asked quietly.

"I just wanted to seek out your company. Is that wrong?"

"…No," Pururu said slowly, gazing at him cautiously. "I… guess not…"

Despite his typical cool demeanor, I could tell even he was beginning to bend under the awkward atmosphere. He brought a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. "Pururu."

The light purple frog jumped, startled, and turned to him, her eyes slightly dilated. "…Lieutenant?"

"I would be more comfortable if, for the time being, you addressed me by my name."

Pururu's white face took on a dark red color.

I saw from the corner of my eye Zoruru straighten almost defensively, his arms loosening, his hands clenching.

"W…why?"

"Just for the sake of the game," Garuru told her. He was looking forward instead of looking at her. "Please."

"…Okay," Pururu said uncertainly.

"What do you like?"

"…What?"

"What do you like?" Garuru repeated.

"W-what do you mean by that?"

"Certain females like flowers, some like chocolates." Garuru finally turned to gaze at her. "What do you like?"

Something shuffled in the bushes. Pururu shot her head toward it, losing her interest in the Lieutenant.

"…Puru-?"

"I have to go," she said quickly, hopping off the seat. She bowed to Garuru apologetically and then ran off, the purple Keronian immediately jumping off in an almost urgent manner.

Zoruru then relaxed, his hands slipping off his arms and resting his organic fingers against the bark of the tree. He sighed, somewhat relieved. As if found Pururu's dismissal satisfactory, he _zipped _away, probably to the motel that Taruru was talking about earlier.

Garuru stood there, looking subtly dejected.

I guess that never really happened to him before, being such a highly respected soldier and all. I almost felt like going up to him and comforting him, had I not been eavesdropping.

"…He's jealous."

"…Huh?" I gazed down to Taruru, who had this big ol' silly grin on his face.

"Zoruru. He's jealous."

"…What?" I asked.

Taruru shrugged. "I've actually noticed it for a while now." Instead of dwelling on said subject any longer, he spun around. "Let's go to that motel. I actually am kind of tired, even though this is a game."

"…Speaking of which," I said, walking after him, "Who are you, um, pursuing?"

"An elephant," Taruru stuck out his tongue. "Her name's Marie. She keeps squeezing me a lot with her nose, though."

"Oh? And how far on your relationship are you?"

"Right now," Taruru whipped out his tablet and examined the screen, "we're mortal enemies."

"W-… _what?!_"

"Yeah. That's what it says right here."

Yup. There it was. It was in flaming red words, with a little skull floating above it: _MORTAL ENEMIES. _

"I… don't think that's a good sign, Taruru," I said weakly, a sweat drop sliding down my cheek.

"Really?" Taruru pouted. "Aw. I thought it was a step up from 'Dead to Me'."

Oh dear. "What did you _say_ to her?"

"I thought elephants liked being told they were big and fat and wrinkly!" Taruru poked out his lips. "Turns out I was wrong."

"Ahaha… I'll, um, keep that in mind the next time I'm trying to woo an elephant…"

"You got that right!" Taruru said, placing his hands on his hips. "Oh. And they hate mice." He said this with a finger directed up at the sky. "And wheelchairs. And candy corn. And definitely mice in wheelchairs eating candy corn. Don't forget that."

"…What do mice, candy corn and wheelchairs have anything to do with wooing an elephant?" I asked him, befuddled.

Taruru laughed joyfully. "Long story. Best if you don't ask."

"Uh… okay…"

"Cadet." I stopped turned around, seeing Garuru walk up from behind me, his face unreadable. Err, more unreadable than usual.

"Yeah?"

"Where do we go now?" Garuru inquired, sounding exhausted.

"We're going to the Motel Animaux to rest for 'tonight'," I told him. I swallowed nervously and waited for his response. I got none.

After a long, awkward pregnant silence, Garuru spoke.

"What do women like, First Class Private?"

"…Eh?" Taruru delivered him a broken smile. "…You're… asking _me _this?"

"…Never mind," Garuru said blankly. "You're right. It was a bad idea-"

"No, no!" Taruru waved his hands slightly. "It's just… um. Okay." He turned away and tapped his fingers against his own head. Obviously, having someone as influential as the leader of his platoon ask him for advice about courtship was enough to make him uncharacteristically nervous. "Err… well… girls like flowers…"

"Flowers?" Garuru mused at this particular aspect. "…Do you recommend anything?"

"Wow, you're taking this whole game thing really seriously, Lieutenant," I said with a wry laugh.

"I don't want to have to go through this whole simulation again," Garuru flicked his hat off his face with a snap of his fingers. "I might as well try and get through this whole humiliating ordeal as quickly as possible."

"Girls like roses," Taruru suggested, watching his superior's face for any looks of approval. He seemed very pleased when an expression of thoughtfulness crossed the purple frog's features.

"Roses," Garuru murmured. "Hm. I shall look for them."

"Hey! What are you doing out so late?" The white haired boy from before came at us, a flashlight at his right hand. He shone the light to us in our faces, examining us. We winced and blocked it with our arms. "…You aren't supposed to be out here."

"I'm sorry," I said weakly.

Saburo sighed. "Just go to the motel. I'll let it go since it's the first time I've caught you out. But when it gets late," he nodded to the clock tower, "I expect you to go to the motel."

Did I ever tell you that I hate getting in trouble? I always get so flustered. "Y-yes sir."

"Good." Saburo glanced us over again and turned around. "I'll escort you."

"Th-thank you."

* * *

The motel (I'm not even going to ask about the logic of having a motel in a zoo; Kururu made the game, not me) was a pretty standard looking one, especially from the inside. The walls were painted a creamy green, with the borders a soft white color. Long, practical and comfortable looking couches circled the wide dining room, a small brown coffee table in the middle. There were two stairs leading up to the next level of the motel, with a large mahogany desk that sat between them.

A girl sat on the table, typing away at the computer in front of her. She had pink hair- a dark color than Pururu's human self- and large caramel colored eyes. They seemed very innocent to me, yet very… fiery, like she could change from being sweet and friendly to threatening and scary.

I rang the little bell that sat on the desk, and she turned to me. I glanced at her nametag: _Natsumi Hinata. _

"I like your name," I said, maybe a bit dumbly.

She gave me an odd look. "Uh. Thanks, I guess." She gestured to the left. "The boys go in there."

"So the girls and the guys are separated?" Taruru asked her. "Huh. Cool."

"Well, _yeah,_" Natsumi rolled her eyes. "Like we'd actually let you get all pervy with the girls. Not going to happen under my watch!"

….I decided not to question that.

"So I'm assuming the New Recruit and Lance Corporal are upstairs?" Garuru inquired.

"Two of you guys are," Natsumi said, typing something on her keyboard. "All the girls I'm aware of are in their living quarters. I'm guessing that you're the rest of the boy troupe." She jerked her thumb to the left. "Like I said before: it's up there. Now go get some sleep."

"Thank you," Garuru said politely.

Taruru gazed over his shoulder to the pink-haired girl as we made our way up the stairs. "Hey, Lieutenant? … Don't you think that-?"

"Yes. I'm assuming that that girl, and the boy outside, are both inspired of the human partners the Sergeant Major associates himself with."

"Whoa, wait," I said, looking at him. "So you're saying… that Kururu _also _has a human partner?"

"Don't you sound surprised," Taruru chuckled.

No offense to this Kururu guy, but _who in their right mind would willingly hang out with him? _He was mean, creepy, and a troll. That was minus one hundred points there; you can't _possibly _disagree with my logic.

Garuru shrugged at this. "All I was aware of was that the Keroro Platoon needed a place to reside with… he was taken captive with that girl, and… everything fell into place."

"The Keroro Platoon?" I repeated, blinking at him. "There's another platoon?"

"Yes. The Sergeant Major is in that platoon under the leadership of Sergeant Keroro."

"Wow," I said, almost breathlessly, "I didn't know that there was more of you out there in the same position."

"Not exactly," Taruru laughed, hopping in front of us and opening the door. He stepped to the side and let us in.

"I have to agree with the Private," Garuru said as he walked in. "Whereas we honestly have no choice due to the circumstances of the weather, the Keroro Platoon does indeed have the option to leave whenever they choose."

"Well, then, why don't they?"

"…I'd rather not clarify," Garuru said, folding his arms. "It's confidential."

The room was large enough for all five of us, the beds separated a decent amount between them. Tororo had draped the outer garment of his blue uniform at the edge of his mattress, and he was already fast asleep, his face half hidden in the pillows, the blanket loosely over him.

"I personally think it's because they've gotten too close to their Pekoponian partners," Zoruru huffed, getting the gist of our conversation and jumping right in. "Zeroro used to be a very… fearsome assassin." He glared off to the side. "Now he prides himself through the protection of Pekopon. Disgusting."

"…They have indeed softened," Garuru muttered.

"Who's in the Keroro Platoon?" I questioned, sitting down on the bed provided for us.

Garuru leaned against his own. "Sergeant Keroro, Sergeant Major Kururu, Lance Corporal Dororo-"

"_Zeroro,_" the cybernetic ninja intercepted, irritated. "It's _Zeroro._" He said it as if the very name burned his tongue.

"…Second Class Private Tamama, and Corporal Giroro."

"Giroro?" I widened my eyes and stared at Garuru. "_Giroro? _As in, your brother?"

Garuru stared out the window. "…Yes."

"…Oh, wow." I smiled. "You're a lot closer than I had originally thought you were."

"Hm," he murmured. His visor covered his eyes, and hence, half his face, concealing whatever emotions that reflected whatever was bouncing in his head just now. He looked distant, and maybe even a little… sad. I tilted my head.

"…Lieutenant? Are you okay?"

Garuru began to unbutton his long sleeved shirt. He quietly pulled it off, folded it and left it at the edge of his bed. "I'm tired now, Cadet."

"A-ah. Of course… I'm sorry."

"Good night."

* * *

I was the first- and the only- one up. I stretched and gazed out the closed window, picking up the dark blue uniform and pulling it over the white t-shirt. Weird.

Kururu must really be a genius to make everything feel so real.

I carefully walked by the male members of the Garuru Platoon and opened the door, closing it quietly behind me when I got out. I headed down the stairs I saw that Natsumi wasn't there anymore; rather, it was a slightly younger looking girl with dark, almost greenish looking hair tied back in a ponytail, a pink ribbon holding it together.

I gazed at her nametag: _Koyuki Azumaya. _

"Hi!" she said sweetly. "Can I help you with anything?"

"No," I shook my head timidly. "Just… wanted to see your name."

"Oh!" she giggled. "I'm Koyuki."

"I got that," I said with a small smile. "Can I go outside now?"

"Of course," Koyuki nodded. "The earlier the better!"

I pushed open the glass doors and walked outside, shivering at the slightly cold air. Again, for a virtual game it was awfully realistic.

I turned to the unicorn pen. It was empty. I guess it was too early for her. Might as well check up on her later.

I found myself just strolling around the park, examining the small description boxes that listed each animal. Interestingly, the boxes held information that you probably wouldn't have guessed if you didn't pay too much attention, like what they liked to eat and a brief example of their personality type. I read them out of curiosity, telling myself to keep them in mind if I ever came across one of the girls if they needed help.

I paused at a particular area.

It was a dark, cave-like animal pen, with a sign that said '_Coming soon!_' in front of another that read '_Do not enter'. _Yellow construction tape crisscrossed over the entrance. I glanced around for Saburo.

Nobody around.

I ducked under and around the tape and went inside, running my hand inside the stone-like walls. So dark… I couldn't help but wonder what kind of animal was going to be hidden in here.

"Mm, couldn't help yourself?"

I gasped and covered my mouth, my heart drumming heavily in my chest. To the right of me was the fox- the same exact fox that was in the fairytale simulation before. He was sitting at another table, his legs crossed as he sipped on a cup of tea. His eyes went ablaze in the darkness, shining brightly at me.

"Good morning," he said cheerily. "I'll take it you couldn't help but want to explore this cave despite being off-limits? Curious little fellow, aren't you?"

I felt my mouth go dry as I stared at him.

"Do sit down; I was feeling a little lonely, you know," the fox said, ushering me forward.

I don't know what came over me. I did as he requested, taking a seat on the chair in front of him. His smile grew wider.

"Good, good," the fox said with a sharp laugh. "I was hoping you would join me for a cup of tea."

Upon further observation, I noticed that the fox looked exactly the same as before- he looked nothing like the animals that were very realistic. He, being more anthropomorphic than anything, was sitting up, wearing the red vest he was wearing before, the pocket watch still tucked in his chest pocket.

"Mm," the fox swallowed his next mouthful of tea, "You look different. Did you do something with your shoes?"

"Who are you?"

"Ah, I never introduced myself, did I?" the fox mused. "I do dreadfully apologize. I am Gatsby. Very nice to meet you."

Gatsby? Like the Great Gatsby?

"I liked the name myself," Gatsby continued, as if he had read my mind. "Yes, yes. Very interesting name. I thought to myself, that's my new name, as soon as I heard it."

"…Wh… why are you here-?"

"Have you ever heard the story of the Grisly beard?"

I blinked at him. "…Huh? The… pirate?"

"Once upon a time, there was a princess who had come to the age of getting married," Gatsby narrated, ignoring me. "She was a very beautiful woman, but she was incredibly vain, and selfish. Oh, yes. Her father had made a wonderful feast for her and invited all these wealthy men to dine in hopes of her finding a man worthy enough for her to marry. It didn't quite work out the way he wanted it to.

"Her daughter haughtily made fun of all the men there, oh yes. 'This one is Big Nose', she would taunt. 'And this man is Short Man'. 'And this man is Grisly Beard'. Her father was furious, furious indeed! He told her that because of her arrogant attitude, she would be offered in marriage the first chance she got."

"…What… happened?" I asked slowly, tilting my head slightly at him.

The fox's smile stretched into a wide, playful grin. "…Mm, curious now, aren't we, Johnny? Well. Unfortunately our time will be cut short." He winked at me. "Come visit me tomorrow, let's say, around this time? You have a… beautiful young lady to court, aren't I right?"

"But-"

A single blink of an eye.

He was gone.

_…To be Continued._

* * *

**Oh, yes. For the next several chapters, Johnny will officially be blonde now XD**

***Ahem* Back to the matter at hand. I hope you understand how hard I worked on this chapter. Ugh. I never thought they would take so long...**

**RITA RUBY STELLA AND KITTY. **

**Please tell me what you would do under circumstances like these XD; I promise I'll try to include you more in the next chapter. I was just kind of clueless for this part.**

**So, anyway: this is a parody of a parody of a dating sim XD I based it off of "Hatoful Love" or something like that. I don't know. I just thought it would be funny. **


	30. Lost and Found- Pt 2

**DAY TWENTY-SEVEN, WORD TWENTY-SEVEN: LOST AND FOUND (PART II)**

* * *

I walked out of the dark cave, wincing slightly under the bright light, pushing away all the yellow streamer-like tape that were tangled around the entrance.

"Hey, Johnny!"

I turned and saw Tororo padding over to me, a plastic soda bottle in his hands. Geez, the little tike really liked to eat, doesn't he? ….Redundant question. Sorry.

"Hey," I said, waving slightly. Truth be told, I was still a little shook up from my encounter with the fox. I took a deep breath and embarrassedly turned away, hoping he wouldn't see me shake. "What's up?"

"The bear likes poems," Tororo said, crossing his arms. "I need you to write me one."

I jumped and shot a look of confusion to him. "_What?_"

"You write poetry, don't you?"

"W… _What?_" I blushed heavily. "Where the heck did you get _that _from?!"

"Pu-pu! Oh yeah, I hacked into your computer."

I stared at him in bewilderment. "You did _what?!_"

"Pu! No use in denying it," Tororo said smugly. "I have your stuff copied and pasted on my own laptop in home… 'case I ever need it for blackmail… or if I'm bored; whatever comes first."

I turned pale. "Th… those aren't mine."

"Uh, _yeah _they are," Tororo smirked. "I'm pretty sure they are. They came from _your _computer. You write pret-ty personal stuff in those files, Johnny."

"….What do you want?" I consented, my shoulders drooping in defeat.

"Pu-pu-pu! I knew you'd see it my way!" Tororo snickered, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen from… I don't know where, actually. Curse aliens and their way of hammerspacing. "I need you to write me a poem for the bear. Like, _I dunno. _Something that'll impress her but that's not so corny at the same time."

I sighed, accepted the items and sat down, tapping the pen against my chin.

"Don't have all day, Johnny."

"Geez, you think I come up with this stuff on the spot?"

"It doesn't have to be a musical ballad; it can be short, you know." Tororo watched me scribble some words on the paper, fascinated. "Why do you write that lovey-dovey crap anyway? Do you… _like _someone or something?"

I grinned wryly. "Ha. Funny. No, actually; guys that I know would come to me to write something cute for their girlfriends, and then I let them say they wrote it."

Tororo wrinkled his nonexistent nose. "How did they know you write poetry?"

"I just… love to write," I shrugged. "We had a poetry course in class, and when we were required to write and present our own poem, my friends were kind of impressed. Here. How's this?" I cleared my throat. "'If my heart was a lantern, then you'd be the light, that warms my bare soul, and shines through the night'?"

"Well… it's _kinda_ cheesy, but it'll have to work," Tororo said, snatching it out of my hands. "Thanks."

I beamed. "You're welcome." I then frowned and looked back at the cave where I was just at. "…Hey, Tororo?"

"Yeah?"

"…Do you remember that fox back at the Fairytale sim thing?"

Tororo gazed at me strangely. "What about it?"

"I think I just saw him here," I said, pointing behind me. "He said his name was 'Gatsby' and he was just-"

"Pu! I think you were just dreaming," Tororo said dismissively.

"But… it's a simulation-"

"Sure, but the old man makes it as real as heck!" Tororo jerked a thumb to his chest. "When I was asleep I was dreaming something too."

"Oh really?" I tilted my head slightly. "And what was that?"

Suddenly, his smug grin eased, and a deep, pink blush sprayed across his cheeks. "N… _NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!_" He then proceeded to throw the empty plastic bottle at my face and sprint off- or, uh, I guess sprint as fast as a chubby little tadpole can go- and promptly disappeared around the corner.

….What was _that _all about?

I rubbed my cheek.

_….Ow._

* * *

Every time I moved toward the Lieutenant, he only seemed to go farther away. I'm not sure whether he was doing this on purpose or coincidentally, but it was annoying me a little. After chasing him around in a circle for the past while, I gave up and decided to check out what the others were doing.

One of the pens had glass around it, with blankets of snow and a frozen river, a small hole made in the sheet of ice. A little igloo was made off to the side, and little indents in the snow with fish scattered about it.  
Stella was looking through the glass, saying something softly. I walked toward her and gently patted her shoulder. She glanced over it.

"Oh, hey, Johnny!"

"Hi," I said meekly. "Whatcha doing?"

"Trying to get this little guy out of that igloo," Stella told me, shaking her head slightly. "All I hear is his little voice answering me back. He's too scared to come out."

"Aw. You know what his name is yet?"

"Jack."

For a game made in Japan, I'm surprised there are so many English-sounding names in this zoo… except for the other people besides the 'players', that is.

"Oh." I turned to the igloo. "Let me try."

"Johnny," Stella sighed. "I've been trying since yesterday, and he still hasn't come out…"

"Hi," I said gently, "I'm Johnny. How are you?"

"_Get away from me you freak!_"

…Well. That… sure is some real definite ego-boosting syrup right there.

"I think I'm going to leave…"

"Good idea." Stella smiled apologetically to me. "Sorry."

"No big- _hey! _That's my line!"

Stella giggled and went back to her wooing the penguin.

I shook my head and left, wandering off to the elephant pen.

"I don't understand!" Taruru said, puckering his lips out as he folded his arms. "I thought I was beginning to _feel _something!"

"You _thought _you were beginnin' to feel somethin'," the elephant said, pursing her own lips. "But that's just _all in your head, boy_."

"….Why, Lisa, why?!" Taruru said as he feigned a sob. "_YOU ARE TEARING ME APART LISA_!"

"_Mmm_hm. _Ain't nobody got time for that._" The elephant moved her trunk at him when she said this, emphasizing the last word with a snap with her nose (although _how _she attempted that... I have no clue). She then paused. "_And for the last frog-forsaken time _my NAME is LA'FAWNDA."

"Ohhh, yeah, I keep forgetting," Taruru mused, gazing thoughtfully at the sky.

"I _do not _want to talk to you!" La'Fawnda trumpeted her trunk and whirled him away, sending him smacking right into my chest, blowing the wind right out of me. I ended up losing my balance and falling flat on the floor.

"Oh, hi, Johnny boy!" Taruru grinned, waving at me.

I coughed. "…Hey…"

"How are you?"

"Half unconscious but other than that, I'm pretty good…"

Taruru rolled off of me. "So, you, uh, saw that?" He perked a thumb over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I did."

"Then do you think you could tell me what I did wrong?"

"…Well, you, uh, forgot her _name, _first of all…"

"Yeah, I probably have to work on that," Taruru said. He looked up at me. "So how goes it with the uniform?"

"….Unicorn," I corrected him. "And I haven't seen her yet."

Taruru glanced up at the clock tower. "If I were you, I'd probably get to her now, don't you think?"

My eyes trailed up to what he was looking at. The clock tower was near the elephant pen, but I didn't really pay attention to it much before until he pointed it out. On the face of the clock, it had seven numbers instead of the usual twelve, and a little minute hand (and _just _a minute hand) standing still near '6'. It moved slightly to the right.

I winced. "You're right."

"I'm gonna take a break from my wooing," Taruru said as he pulled himself off the floor.

"Hey, um… Taruru?"

The light blue frog turned to look at me.

I rubbed my shoulder. "Do you know where the Lieutenant is?"

"Sure I do! He's chasing Pururu around."

"…Oh."

"Yeah," Taruru grinned. "It's actually really funny… funny and weird, though." He stopped and meditated at this. "…You know… Pururu would usually be really happy if the Lieutenant was paying more than the usual attention to her. It doesn't make sense for her to play hide an' go seek."

"I thought it was because Kururu might've reprogrammed her character data?" I suggested. "Just like Tororo, remember?"

"I still tease him about that," Taruru said, his eyes gaining something of a glossy look as they looked off to the distance. "Just the other day I came across of a picture of a wolf eating a goat and I taped it to Tororo's screen. So when he opened the laptop, that picture would show up. He screamed so loud!" He laughed, but then paused again. "And then Rita found out and made me sit in the corner."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay! I had chocolate." He gently patted my knees. "But seriously, Johnny, I think you should go over there. I don't think the Lieutenant would be too happy if he found out that we'd have to start the whole game over just because you didn't complete _your _objective."

"…True." I imagined myself covered in bullet holes, and I shuddered. "Yeah, I'll do that now."

* * *

"Oh, I'm sorry."

The bird was sitting perched on the fence, staring at me, his large, beautifully colored tail feathers drooping down. He tilted his head at me.

"And what, if I may ask, would be the reason you are apologizing to me?"

I shifted my feet uncomfortably. "I-I don't know. I'm sorry."

"You're doing it again."

"I'm just going to, aha, shut up… now."

The bird turned his head to the side. "Hm. Well, if you're here to come and do what you mangy humans call '_woo_' me, then you are too late."

"Uh, first of all, you're a _boy, _and I'm not really-"

"You are _too late!_" the peacock continued, ignoring me. "My species are known for their loyalty; I shall _remain _loyal to her, and I only hope she'll remain faithful to me."

I stared at him, my mouth slightly parted at the thought of a particular… thought. "Uh. Who's… 'her'?"

"She has a fascinating name," the peacock noted. "Almost as magnificent as _Caesar!_ Which is my name if you must know."

"Uh… huh," I nodded absentmindedly. "So, I'm going to ask this again: who's 'her'?"

"She goes by the name of Pururu," Caesar told me factually. He nodded. "Yes. And she decided to come and go after me."

"Interesting I guess…" I made a half shrug. "So, um…"

"If you _must _know," the peacock said, "I am _extremely _territorial and proud. If you _must _go after me and all my excellence, and elegance, and supreme beauty, and… wait. I seemed to have lost my train of thought."

"If I 'must go after' you," I said dryly.

"Oh, _yes! _If you _must _go after me, I demand strict loyalty." The peacock nodded. "If I so much as _catch _you with another of your opposite species, then-" he made a clicking sound with his throat, "-it's over."

"Don't worry, I'm not pursuing you," I said, maybe a little too bluntly.

"Uh, _ouch_," the bird scowled. "You could have least made an _attempt _to sound more sympathetic!"

"Not that you're not a beautiful bird, but-"

"Why _thank _you!" Caesar gushed, hearts floating over him.

Again, I backed out of the way… from this bird and his strange mood swings. Did Kururu enjoy making demented characters on purpose?!

If that was the case, and I would _not _be surprised if it really was, then my insanity was now completely and utterly doomed.

* * *

"And, like, she was all, '_that's not fair' _, and he was like, '_yeah it is_', and I was like, '_no it isn't_', and then…"

Oh-ho-ho, yes. This is what it was like talking to a unicorn for about… hours. I have no idea how long I really stood there, but it felt like… _hours. _

Brief recap on the whole unicorn thing: basically, her boyfriend (a giraffe) was cheating on her for her sister's cousin's daughter's friend (a Dalmatian), who was cheating on _her _boyfriend (a snake) and gradually diminishing into a spider.

Or, at least I'd like to _maybe _believe I'm somewhat right. I don't know. I was trying to keep a straight face while I desperately kept from snoozing away.

"So, like, what do you think?" Casey asked me, tilting her head.

"I think he's a loser who doesn't deserve anyone like you," I said tactfully.

"Like, _I know right?_"

Did I forget to mention she's modest, too?

"I think I'm going to go for a little bit, Cace," I said, stretching a little bit.

"Like, so soon?" Casey bit her lower lip. " You're so going to come back, aren't you? I mean, like, not that I would _care, _but-"

"I'll be back," I assured her. "I just want to walk around a little."

She held my gaze. "…Okay. Just, like, be back soon."

"I will, don't worry."

I left her pen and breathed a heavy sigh of sweet glorious relief. _FREEDOM. _And best of all, my screen read '_Friend' _instead of plain ol' acquaintance. I feel so accomplished.

I stopped at the catfish pen and decided to peer inside. Zoruru was sitting down on the bench, looking annoyed. I helped myself and sat next to him, though still keeping my distance. When he gave me a side glance- one that I was unable to really sense what he was currently feeling- I immediately jumped off and took several steps back.  
The cyborg just continued to watch me, perking a brow at my direction. I felt judged under his glare, and I looked away from him.

"…Okay," Zoruru said finally, his eyes sliding off from me, "What do you want?"

"Nothing," I said. "Um… I just saw you, and I… wanted to say hi?"

"Okay."

We stood in silence for the most awkwardest moment. Grammar failing, check…. _and _spelling?! I really am growing insane.

I'm going to admit it: I still had that dream. The dream would have different scenarios, like me walking home from school, or being alone in the park, or doing an errand, but all of it would end the same way… I would get brutally murdered by Zoruru. I'm horrified by his presence, and _not _because of the way he looks, but… I don't know. Fight or flight, and I typically do the latter.

Yet here I am, standing in front of Zoruru, my common sense degrading faster than a ball of yarn unraveling as it fell down the stairs.

Well, then, Johnny, you have two options here: you can do what you were doing before and walk away and avoid him, _or, _you could hang around him and possibly get slaughtered.

Hm.

"How's the, um… catfish?" I asked nonchalantly. Apparently I didn't mind signing a death wish. Okie-doke.

Zoruru straightened and crossed his arms. "_Hmph. _Our 'relationship status' or whatever went up from acquaintance to 'Attraction'."

"Oh, wow, that's…" I furrowed my eyebrows at this. "Wait, you didn't get to Friendfirst?"

"If it did, I didn't notice," Zoruru replied.

"Well then… it seems you're really good with talking to girls," I said gently.

"Was that a compliment, or were you teasing me just now?"

"It was, um… a compliment."

Zoruru scowled slightly. "It's people like you that confuse me whether you're using sarcasm or not."

"I don't… really understand sarcasm myself either."

His look softened somewhat. "All right." He shot me a side glance. "What do you want?"

I shrugged. "You were here, and you just looked kind of bored…"

"Shouldn't you be 'wooing' that uniform of yours?"

"First of all, it's _unicorn, _and second, you could only take so much time listening to that horse." I sighed tiredly. "I'm a nice guy, but even nice guys have their limits."

Zoruru nodded. "It's also guys like you that make me want to see you angry. Although with you specifically…"

"I'll be so threatening you won't know what to do?"

"No. Because it _won't _be fun." Zoruru watched me carefully. "You're the type of person that just lets bygones be bygones, right?"

I coughed, slightly offended by Zoruru's comment, but decided not to let it bothe…. I just proved his point, didn't I? "Yeah, pretty much."

"I figured." Zoruru gazed back to the pen where the catfish was. "Me, I'm more the type of person who would go head on. I don't just… _talk, _either."

"I can imagine," I said, glimpsing at the spikes on arm.

"And the Lieutenant…" Zoruru shook his head. "_He _is probably the most frightening when he's angry, too… or when he's drunk. In a mad-drunk kind of way, though."

I perked a brow. "You guys drink?"

Zoruru leaned against his chair. "Occasionally. We tend to just let Tororo lock himself in his room before we bring out the alcohol."

"…I didn't know you guys _had _alcohol in space."

"We typically don't, but after a job well done, Headquarters sometimes likes to send us a reward. And sometimes it's alcohol."

"…Wait. You guys said that you guys locked up Tororo?"

"No," Zoruru said testily, "We don't _lock him up. _We let Tororo _lock himself up_. Sometimes his online chess games get so intense that he needs the silence to himself. If it weren't for us he would literally be spending days all alone trying to get checkmate."

"Oh," I blushed slightly. I get it. Same way with my brother… and me, before the Lieutenant and his platoon came into the picture. "B-but my point was… how about Taruru?"

"He lost his tail and the white left his face," Zoruru explained. "Legally, he's an adult in Keron."

Taruru mentioned something like that about a week ago, didn't he? Hm. "So…" I smiled. "He had his first drink with you?"

Zoruru's face, I noticed, softened again- though very slightly. "Yeah, well, most rookies have their first drink in their platoon. I have a feeling we'll last long enough to give the New Recruit his new drink."

"Last… long enough?"

"A platoon is not for life, kid. All platoons disperse at some point. Ours will be no different." He shrugged again, his eyes dulling at the prospect of what he just suspected. Whether he was willing to admit it or not, he really loved his platoon- all of the members did, I noticed.

I didn't like the sad feeling that tinted the air, so I cleared my throat. "How are you guys like when you're drunk?"

For a second, I didn't think Zoruru was going to tell me; possibly me shoo me off with a snide remark or even a threatening glint off his metal arms. Surprisingly, he made himself comfortable and gained a thoughtful look over his features. "Garuru is strange. He's just... _drunk. _He'll sometimes stare blankly at the wall before someone tries to take his drink away and tell him he has had one too many- and then he gets... mad. He's only fine when we give him the empty cup back, and then he'll be 'happy' again and just... say random things, honestly. Weird things that make absolutely no sense. I don't think he's much of a much of a stupid-drunk, though- that's Taruru. Taruru comes up with these stupid games and he'll balance the cups over his head and call himself the 'eiffel tower'... whatever the heck that is. Pururu is normally able to handle herself with the alcohol, so it's pretty rare that she gets drunk herself, but she still has had her moments. She'll mood-change; one second she's happy that she beat the First Class Private in a drinking contest, the next she'll scream at you for calling her drunk..."

Wow. That... totally changes the way I see the platoon now. I didn't think I would see them having much of a fun side... well... a '_fun_' side, if you under know what I mean.

"And you?"

"I pass out if I drink too much." Zoruru glanced down at his weapon. "My circuits can't take it."

"…How does that work?"

"I don't know. Being trapped in half of a robotic body limits you sometimes."

More sadness tinted the air. More discomfort. "…I'm sorry."

"One of these days I'm going to rip out your throat for saying that word too many times."

"I'm shutting up!" I visibly covered my mouth with my hands, and Zoruru rolled his eye. "U-um…" I lowered them. "…Thanks for sharing that with me… I… know typically you like to keep things to yourself…"

A look of realization at this flickered from his face, and he blinked at me. "Yes, well…" He coughed._ "…_Don't get used to it."

I nodded and gestured behind me. "I'm going to walk around now. Like I said before, thanks for everything."

"_Don't get used to it._"

"I won't," I said, laughing lightly, and stopping when he shot a glare at me. "Yeah, I'm just going to…"

I walked off, feeling, not unusually, embarrassed. I've got to stop being such a flipping pushover…

"_Oof._"

Did something run into me? I looked down, and was bewildered to see Garuru on the ground, his hat and device fallen carelessly beside him.

"Lieutenant?"

Garuru sat up and dusted his sleeves. "I didn't see you, Cadet."

I glanced down at the screen of his iPad thingie, and noticed that the Pururu symbol was slinking away. "…Were you really still going after Pururu, Lieutenant?"

The purple Keronian patted the dirt off the hat and put it back on his head. "…Yes."

"…Has she been avoiding you?"

"…Yes."

"…I'm sorry."

Garuru said nothing to that.

I cleared my throat. "S-so… were you able to catch her at all?"

"…Briefly," Garuru said slowly. "We talked for a moment, but then she ran away again." He stood up. "…There is something wrong. I doubt that it is the 'reprogramming' that is making her act this way."

"Maybe you're just scary, Lieutenant."

Garuru shot me a _don't-play-with-me_ look, and I grinned uneasily.

"S-sorry, sorry. I'll try to refrain from joking about the matter."

"Good," he grunted. "I'm not in the mood for jokes. Especially not yours." He decided to change the subject. "And how is your objective coming along?"

"I'm her 'Friend' now," I said with a small, proud smile. "She didn't want me to leave."

Garuru examined me for a moment, and then looked down, as if he was a little disappointed. "…I see."

I guess he was upset at the fact that even _I _could accomplish something he couldn't.

"How'd the rose thing go?" I asked, sitting down to talk to him face-to-face.

"I… didn't get the chance to do that," Garuru widened his eyes a little. "…Do you know where I could probably find roses?"

"Giftie's Gift Shop," I said, taking out my flat device to stare at the screen. "Right here. Do you want to come with me? I'm already at 'friend', so I can get something for Casey too."

"Very well."

Rita walked up to us, fire blazing on her head. "Hi, guys!"

Garuru and I stared at her blankly before realizing that something probably needed to get done.

I unbuttoned and whipped off my jacket and quickly draped it on her head, smacking it to take out the flame. I kind of just stood there awkwardly when I was done.

"….Um…" I said slowly, taking it off of her head. Her hair was slightly frazzled as a result of my action.

"…What… just happened?" Garuru asked, looking extremely perplexed.

"I have no clue," Rita said dismissively, straightening her hair.

I sighed. "Was it Taruru-related?"

"Probably," Rita replied brightly. "So how are you guys?"

…She was acting unusually casual despite the fact that her head almost got burnt off.

…..Hm.

"We're, uh… we were headed to Giftie's Gift Shop…" I said, perking a brow at that… sudden bout of randomosity.

"Cool! I'll go too!" Rita said, hopping beside us.

"Uh…. Okay….."

* * *

_Giftie's Gift Shop_ was run by a dark-haired boy, playing on the computer. He sat on a large desk, a glass wall in front of it that showed off many items inside: animal food (it ranged to all the animals except Pururu; ha, imagine that: _Pururu food_), toys, human snacks, instruments… there was quite a variety. The shop was very small, but I guess it just made it all the more so with the fact that there seemed to be something on every inch of the wall… _literally. _Posters, advertisements, weird purple-colored things… you named it. Rita ran over to another part of the room to look at a particular poster.

"Um… hi," I said, tapping on the front desk.

The boy gazed at me, and I took notice of his nametag: _Fuyuki Hinata. _

"Hi," he said cheerily. "May I help you?"

"Y-yeah…" I said, smiling a little. "Do you have any roses?"

"Sure," Fuyuki chimed, taking them out.

"…Do we need money for this?" Rita asked after examining the goodies around the shop.

"Nah, it's on the house… mostly," Fuyuki said, taking out the cluster of red flowers and giving them to me. I handed them to Garuru, who held them somewhat awkwardly in his arms.

"What do you mean 'mostly'?" I asked, tilting my head.

"You can only buy ten things a day," Fuyuki explained. "So you have to be careful about what you want or need to buy. After the tenth item, I'm going to have to say no."

"…Oh," I said, blinking. "Okay…"

"It's fine," Fuyuki said gently, giving me an almost apologetic grin. Wow. He looked so boyish. It only just made me realize how _tall _he was compared to me despite having the face of a little kid.

…Stupid, stupid height.

"Is there anything else you want?" Fuyuki asked.

"Yeah… um…" What did Casey like again? I squatted down to look at the objects in the glass case. "What would you recommend for a uniform?"

"…A uniform?"

Did I really just-? Ugh. "Unicorn. Unicorn, sorry."

Fuyuki laughed. "It's alright! Um… I don't know. I'm not really into all that 'wooing' business. I'm just the shopkeeper."

"Alright…" I said, pointing at the glass. "I'll take the hay and the wildflowers, then."

"Okay," Fuyuki said, bending down to get the requested items.

"Ooh! And I think I'll get the can of flies," Rita grinned. "I'm pretty sure the spider will like that."

"…A…. _spider?_" Garuru shuddered- visibly, too. I looked at Rita to see if she noticed, but she was too concentrated on the object Fuyuki was holding.

"Yeah, a spider," Rita confirmed. "He doesn't like me very much yet, though."

"Well, I bet you're doing better than Taruru," I chuckled a little. "Make sure you don't forget his name."

Rita's eyes gained a glossy look as she stared out into the distance.

Sweat formed on my cheek. "Don't tell me…"

"I'm sure it'll come to me sooner or later," Rita said, taking the can.

"Uh… okay." Full sweat drop now.

_Wow._ Those two are more alike than I originally thought.

"Well, tally-ho!" Rita said, her face contorting to one of seriousness as she saluted us.

Fuyuki and I just kind of waved, and Garuru continued to stare at her strangely.

Rita ran out, humming some sort of _Superman_-related theme song with her hands (and the can) in the air.

I coughed back a laugh.

"…That was odd," Garuru said dryly.

"Yeah, it was," I agreed. "So…" I pointed at the roses. "Are you going to try and give those to Pururu now?"

Garuru clicked his tongue. "I suppose I don't have much of a choice."

The Lieutenant felt a rush of cool air as the door opened, and we both turned to see the participant coming in.

It was Pururu, her eyes dilating when she caught sight of us and the small dozen of roses Garuru had in his hand. Her face turned white before it turned into a darker shade of red.

"U-uh…" Pururu fumbled. She looked conflicted. "H-hello, Lieutenant."

Garuru frowned.

"…Garuru," Pururu said uneasily, blushing even harder, if that was at all possible. When he took a step toward her, she made a tiny squeak and ran out again.

For a second, Garuru just stared at the space where she was at blankly as the door _flopped _to a close.

"…Cadet."

"Yeah?"

"…Do I really need all these flowers?"

I considered this. "…You might only need one…"

"Very well," Garuru continued calmly, selecting one and handing the rest to me. With a rose in his hand, he darted after her, racing past the door, and I jumped at the sudden, unanticipated action the Lieutenant normally wouldn't be caught dead doing.

He must've realized the urgency of the situation now- most of us had already gotten our relationship status to 'friend', whereas when I caught sight of his own tablet, it still read 'stranger' despite the fact that he already knew her. I guess in the game, she was no more than a 'stranger' that to him, to his chagrin. With less than six days left, I could tell he was now getting a little desperate.

…It was funny, I won't deny that. Yay. More blackmail.

* * *

"Like, _OMG! _You got me flowers?!" Casey bit them right out of my hand and chewed on them happily. "_MMM. _Like, _so _good!"

"I'm glad you like them," I said. "Do you like hay too?"

"_OMG! _OMG, OMG." She ate those out of my hands too.

…You have absolutely _no _idea how weird all this is.

After listening to another intelligent one-sided conversation with the unicorn, and half responding when she asked me a question that she mostly answered herself, I again dismissed myself and walked off. I gazed down at the screen of my tablet and was relieved to see that I had gained yet another step up- 'Attraction'. Woot.

"_Oof!_"

Yet another one. I almost expected to see Garuru on the ground; rather, it was Pururu, rubbing her oversized head with her hand.

"Uh, hi?" I said, tilting my head.

"J-Johnny!" Pururu said, blushing heavily. "I-I…" I guess it was about _now _that she realized that she was out of breath, because she coughed as she began to pant.

I kneeled down and gently rubbed her back, Pururu pushing my hand away when I touched her. "What's wrong?"

"I-I just…. I just _can't…_"

"Can't what?" I asked, wrinkling my nose. "…Hey, speaking of which… _why _are you running away from the Lieutenant all of a sudden? You seem almost scared of him."

Pururu gazed up at me, looked around very warily, and then sighed. "I just can't be seen with another male…" She stood up and patted her skirt of the dust. "I'm… I'm pursuing a peacock, and he gets very jealous…"

Wait, that's right… "…So, that's why you're worried about being with the Lieutenant."

"Exactly," Pururu sighed. "The _one _time I don't want his attention and he gives it to me anyway," she muttered, agitated.

"Uh… you do know why he's doing that, right?" I asked her.

"Not really…" Pururu confessed, embarrassed. "I think he told me, but for some strange reason, I forgot…"

"I think even if we told you again you'd only forget again," I said, quickly apologizing when she gave me an almost hurt look. "N-no! That's… that's not what I meant! I just think that your data is reprogrammed to not know. As… illogical as it may sound… I think that's the only reasonable answer."

Pururu gazed at me quizzically.

"It's hard to really explain," I said.

She shook her head and waved her hand. "It's fine, it's fine. Now, don't take it too personal…" she said as she glanced at her tablet, "But I have to go now." She ran off before either of us could say hi, so I just waved idly.

"…Cadet…"

I turned around and Garuru breathing heavily as if he had been running a marathon, his hand around a slightly wilted rose. I would have laughed at the sight had he not been Garuru. He stared up at me with his eyes sparking in irritation.

"What… were you doing… talking to… the Chief Medic?"

"She was just telling me what was going on," I said with a friendly smile, holding my hands up defensively. "She said that the animal that she's pursuing is a peacock, and they're typically very dominant, jealous creatures, so-"

"I see…" Garuru materialized a gun, and I yelped.

"No!" I said, pulling it away. The gun felt strange and steely and cold in my hands, so I dropped it as kicked it away with my foot. It dissolved after it flew a little ways away.

He blinked at me, mildly shocked at my audacity. He glared. "No _what_, Cadet?"

"I-it's just…" I stammered, turning red in the face, "I-it's just that… if you kill the peacock… she won't be able to complete her objective…"

"….Logical…" Garuru said slowly. He shook his head. "I… don't understand what's come over me…"

"You're stressed," I said, sitting down on the ground. "Unfortunately, you and Pururu got 'roles' that contradict each other… that's not your fault-"

"I don't need your pity, Cadet," Garuru said with a dissatisfied scowl.

"Right, right," I laughed nervously. "…Here's the thing… I have an idea. What if I distract the peacock for you? Then, Pururu won't have to worry too much about the bird watching over her as you give her the roses. You're also free to tell her that I'm taking care of it."

Garuru nodded, and then looked at the droopy flower in his possession. "…I would appreciate that."

"…You might want to go get another one of those, Lieutenant."

"Noted."

* * *

"….Kitty."

"Yes?"

"….Are you flirting with Casey?"

Kitty smiled at me. "I'm sorry. I got bored with Henry."

I looked at her tablet and gaped. "_What?! _How the heck did you get her to like you so quickly?!"

"I knew what to say," she said with a simple shrug. "Though it _did _get a little tiring to listen to her for a while…"

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or seethe with jealousy.

…

_Jealousy?!_

I'm jealous?

_What._

I tried to think reasonably about it, or maybe assume that I'm getting mad for no reason, but it's the truth. _I was getting angry for someone else gaining Casey's attraction. _And it wasn't just a friendly rivalry game thing either; I was genuinely starting to get… _jealous._

…_Please _don't tell me our avatar-thingies were programmed to actually _fall in love _with the animals…

Kururu must've done it anyway.

….I really, really, _really _was beginning to_ hate_ that _demented_, _soulless_, _spine-tingling_ _sociapathethic_ _toad_...

"You okay, Johnny?" Kitty asked me nervously. "You look like you're narrating again."

I grinned tightly. "I'm _fine…_" Clearing my throat, and proceeding, while trying desperately not to sound aggravated, "How far did you at least reach in wooing Henry?"

She showed me her tablet. '_Crush_'. But under Henry's name were all the other animals: Acquaintance, Friend, Friend, Acquaintance, Attraction, Friend….

"Are you trying to make the whole _zoo _fall in love with you?" I was incredulous.

"I'm good at games like these," she said, putting the iPad-esque device away. "And like I said before, I got bored."

I kind of face palmed. "Gosh…"

"If it helps," Kitty added meekly, "Casey likes sour gummy worms."

"…Really?"

"Yeah," Kitty grinned. "See, there's _some _good use to my flirting!" She winked playfully. "I get to kind of get you the cheats!"

"Ha… I guess that is kind of right…" I smiled weakly.

"Well, I gotta go," Kitty gestured behind her. "I'm going to go see if I could help sis out with the spider."

She walked off, and I stared after her blankly.

Jealousy is an odd emotion; it saps all your natural, cheerful energy and replaces it with a sick, gruesome, horribly _dark_ feeling that just eats all of you up.

….For some strange reason I wanted to equip myself with a kitchen knife.

Wait, am I just really doing this all for a _unicorn? _

….

Sanity going, going, going…. Annndd….. It's _gone._

* * *

"You're really pretty."

"What's it to you?"

"Nothing; you're just really pretty."

The small bird on the dead tree snorted. "What you humans are doing... it's stupid, and it's pathetic. So I best advise you to stop _now._"

"Aw, I can't help it," Ruby said sweetly, smiling. "You're so cute!"

I had to admit she was right; the bird was gray, with black ends at the tip of its wings and a white belly. Its eyes looked masked with a black slash on the feathers, its similar colored beak small but slightly hooked. Its tiny (and sharp) dark gray talons clutched on to the bark. He looked like he was trying to convey this tough, mean persona with a Brooklyn accent but I had to hand it to Ruby... she was right. He was almost as adorable as Tororo or Pururu. Almost.

The shrike puffed up its feathers. "Give it a rest, sweetheart. You won't be able to bring me down."

Ruby gave him a charming grin. "But you've already come down a few branches in comparison to yesterday."

The bird stared at her for a moment, chirped indignantly and the fluttered back up to the top of the tree.

I heard Ruby mutter, _"I should have just kept my mouth shut..._"

"Hi. How goes it?" I asked her, startling her from behind.

"Well..." Ruby sighed. "It could be better..."

"He's a toughy, ain't he?"

"Well, he's my friend so it's not _so _bad," Ruby showed me the tablet, and I nodded.

"Coolio. I got my unicorn to 'attracted'."

"...You got a unicorn?"

"It's about as manly as it sounds," I protested, smirking slightly despite myself.

Ruby's eyes sparkled slightly as she turned back to the bird. She continued to me, "So! Pururu got the peacock. I think his name's Caesar." She gave me a side glance. "Who did Garuru get?"

"Pururu."

Ruby immediately turned to me, eyes wide. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," I laughed. "Apparently Kururu was feeling 'puckish' again."

"...Oh wow," the girl said, giggling as well. "Pururu must be so ecstatic!"

"...Um... actually... she's kinda running away from him."

"...What?"

I explained it to her.

"Aww! Poor Pururu," Ruby shook her head.

"Poor _Garuru._" I folded my arms. "He's been chasing her all over the zoo and everything! I was going to help them out by distracting the peacock."

Ruby nodded. "Good idea. I'll help out too."

"Yeah... when you can, tell Pururu you'll help her out; find certain times where you could be confident that you could find and distract the peacock while Garuru... uh, 'woos' Pururu." Geez, I have no idea why, but that last sentence just... _didn't _sound quite right. Still made me shiver.

"I'll do that," Ruby assured me.

"_Hey sweetheart!_ What are you doin' down there?" the bird flittered back to one of the closer branches and glared at her. "Here you're tryin' to woo me and... and you're already flirtin' with this _guy?_"

"We are not flirting," Ruby and I snapped.

"...Really? Good. 'Cuz I was beginnin' to feel sorry for her." He jerked his head toward the girl.

"...That's very nice of you."

"Yeah, I get that enough, shortstuff. _Now beat it._"

I winked at Ruby playfully, and she grinned back. "I'll see you later then, Rubes."

"You too, Elric!"

"_...Funny._"

* * *

"Hey, Tororo," I said, picking him up and putting him over my shoulders.

"H-HEY!" Tororo complained, wiggling violently. "_LET GO OF ME!_" I grinned and walked on, going upstairs to the room where Garuru, Taruru, and Zoruru were at.

"How did it go with Pururu?" I asked the purple frog.

"Very well, thank you," Garuru said in a tone you typically reserved for professionalism. I honestly wished I could've seen that scene; I could imagine it being extemely awkward for the normally stoic and apathetic officer. "I appreciate your distraction."

"It's no big deal," I thought about the peacock, and shivered. "It's really creepy how he was following her around, though…. No wonder she looked so paranoid when I talked to her."

Zoruru turned to me. "_What?_"

"The peacock that Pururu is trying to pursue? It's literally following her around, watching her every movement."

Zoruru's face darkened with that thought in mind.

"…Can you let me go now?" Tororo asked.

I set him down on his bed.

"It's fine, Zoruru," Taruru said. "It's just a game."

"An incredibly _realistic _game," Zoruru reminded him. He let out a snarl. "That bird better watch its back from now on…"

"Lance Corporal," Garuru said warningly. "As much as I would like to _exterminate _that creature, we must be considerate."

"Yeah, pu!" Tororo grinned. "How else do you think we're going to finish the game if you kill off one of the animals?"

"It doesn't mean I can't be… creative," Zoruru said, his voice indicating a hint of a smirk.

"You're going to write a letter saying it's not nice?" Taruru asked, lying on the bed with his head hanging upside down from the mattress.

Zoruru didn't answer, instead sighing exasperatingly as he rolled his eye to the ceiling. He _zipped _up and made himself comfortably as he hung upside down. I watched him, fascinated. He looked almost like a bat that was getting read to sleep, I noticed. I also wondered why he wasn't getting dizzy from the blood rushing to his head...

"You're comfortable with your long sleeve on, Z-?" He threw the jacket on my face.

* * *

The next morning, I went to the cave again, earlier than usual, thinking that maybe the time had something to do with our brief encounter yesterday.

I entered through the entrance and found myself consumed by the darkness again, again running my fingers against the walls.

"Aha! So you've arrived! Earlier, too! I greatly appreciate it~"

I blinked up and saw the fox there, leaning against his chair on the table with his tea set.

"S-so…" I stammered, taking a seat in front of him.

He grinned. "Good morning, Johnny Cadet."

"…Wait… I never told you my name, did I-?"

"I know many things," Gatsby said smoothly. "Many, many, many things."

"…Okay…" I rubbed the back of my neck. "S-so…" I cleared my throat. "…The story."

"Right, right! Where was I?" Gatsby tilted his head up at the ceiling. "Ah, yes. There once was a man from Nantucket-"

"Uh… I think that's the wrong story…"

"Ah, yes, yes, you're right, aren't you?" Gatsby gave me a small, humble chortle. "Yes. Why don't you tell me where I'm at, mm? I don't want to get you confused any more than it already is."

"Um…" I closed my eyes in thought. "It was the Big Beard story, I think… you said that her father was mad at her so she had to get married the next chance she got…?"

"Mm!" the fox held up a finger as he sipped on his cup of tea. He swallowed. "Actually, it's _Grisly _Beard, but yes, yes that's quite right. Now, let's see…

"One day, a traveling merchant comes along to the castle, and offers to perform something for the king. The king is delighted, of course, and lets him in. The merchant plays a flute so beautifully, and heavily impresses the king. His majesty believed that there had to be something of worth to give to the merchant, and stumbled upon an idea… he would give his daughter to this man.

"Now, when the daughter heard of this, she flatly refused, but her father was absolutely serious when he stated that he would give her away the next chance she got. That very day- that very hour, in fact- he forced his servants to create a very brief wedding and he sent her away with this man. The girl was miserable, and didn't fail to complain every while. Now, when they went home, the merchant told her that she must work to pay for the bread on the table. Needless to say, being a princess, she was very delicate and had little to no skills. She tried sewing, but ended up pricking her finger. She tried baking, but she burnt everything. She tried attending the garden, but everything died. Now, the merchant lamented at the uselessness of the girl he had just married. Finally, he told her to go to the market and find some work there.

"As the girl scaled the aisles of the market, the merchants there took notice of her beauty and pitied her for being in such a state as a commoner, so they gave her a few clay pots to sell. She rejoiced, and gladly thanked them and set them up in her own little booth. Before she was given a chance to sell any, however, a drunk knight came riding on his horse, and the fearsome hooves smashed the clay pots in a wild frenzy.

"The girl was horrified. 'Oh, what will my husband think of me now?' she sobbed."

I waited for him to continue, but all he did was drink his tea.

"…Well…?" I said, giving him an odd look.

"Hm?" Gatsby shrugged and smiled. "Ah. Waiting, aren't we?" He chuckled. "Unfortunately, it's around that time..." he checked his watch. "I best be off. Tata."

Before I could complain, he left, yet again, without another trace.

* * *

**I actually meant to send this like, last night... but I got insanely tired...**

**I'm sorry. Oh well... I hope you enjoyed this! The next chapter will go a lot smoother and quicker- I promise I'll try not to go day-by-day on this... I would have seven chapters based off of this simulation XD It really needs to go *snapsnap*. If you have any ideas, any 'events', then feel free to tell me. **

**Don't be shipping anybody in this chapter XDDD It's awkward enough with the animals already!**

**EDIT: "Big Beard" has been switched to "Grisly Beard". Just... wanted to get that cleared up.**


	31. Lost and Found- Pt 3

It wasn't as strange as yesterday; actually, I found myself accepting that the fox was just _there. _

….It must be since I've already long ago accepted that aliens exist and were playing with rubber ducks under my own roof. Hm.

I went to Casey again, and she actually seemed happy to see me.

…I shall not explicate my further feelings on the matter.

"..So, like, he was totally being a total flip, right?" Casey droned as I tried to stay awake, "And like, I was totally _not _jealous, and…" She paused and stared at me. "…You know, Johnny… like, if you ever, _I don't know, _wanted to like… take me somewhere, I'd let you." When I didn't say anything else on the matter, she went on again.

Honestly, I could have easily left a cardboard version of me and she wouldn't notice, seeing as I never could _say _anything in response, and after what I felt were several hours of just _standing there,_ I left. I always felt _drained _when I spent too much time with her. I have no idea why… it must be because _she's _tiring… ugh.

I think I should've just stuck with the catfish, then the unicorn would have been Zoruru's problem.

* * *

Garuru looked exhausted. Again. And, it was only the beginning of the morning.

I sat next to him. "How goes it?"

He breathed heavily and eyed me. "Must… you… really… ask…?"

I gave him a lopsided grin. "Sorry."

He rolled his eyes and coughed.

"Lieutenant?"

"Yes…?"

"Why don't you just take a break for a little bit?"

"I… can't… no… time…"

"Don't make me carry you."

"You… wouldn't dare…" "True." I looked up at the sky. "Not that I want to panic you or anything, but how far along have you gone with her anyway?"

Garuru showed me his tablet, and I took a look.

"Oh, it isn't too bad," I said cheerily. "You've gotten to 'friend' already."

He finally caught his breath. "What is the next level?"

"'Attraction'."

He winced, and I chuckled.

"Sorry, Lieutenant. But you're getting there, right?" I looked at my own iPad-esque thingie. "I'm not exactly how far you have to go to get them to kiss you on the cheek…"

"You have to get them to 'Soul Mate'," Kitty answered from behind me.

I jumped slightly, and Garuru gazed at her curiously.

"…Soul mate?" he asked.

"Soul mate?" I repeated as I wrinkled my nose. "All this for a kiss on the cheek?"

"Kururu's rules; not mine. He was talking about it earlier," Kitty explained. "When we 'woke up', we went outside and he had a message for us." She folded her arms. "You guys weren't there, though… I'm guessing Pururu went out to woo the peacock, and Garuru went after her, right?"

Garuru looked away uncomfortably.

"And… where were you?" Kitty inquired, looking at me.

I didn't want to explain, so I shrugged. "Off. I wake up early, so it's just a bad, bad habit."

"Okay," Kitty said dismissively. "Anyway! He also told us that since we're _all _required to complete our relationship with the animal we're trying to impress, we're getting ten machine parts for the ship."

"Ten," Garuru mused, looking back at Kitty. "Perhaps this simulation isn't so intolerable as I had originally thought." He paused. "….What does… 'soul mate' mean?"

Kitty grinned at him. "A soul mate is someone whom you are destined to be with."  
Garuru was silent.

"As a proud GaruPuru supporter, I approve immensely," Kitty stated randomly.

Garuru blinked at her. "…Garu…Puru?"

"The peacock isn't fun," Kitty told me, ignoring him. "Whenever I talk to him, no matter how high our relationship goes, it's always back to square one when I see him again."

"Well…" I pondered at this. "…You said that you've been flirting with all the animals, right?" That very sentence made me boil a little bit, thinking about her and Casey. I mean, Casey likes _me. _I've been working so hard to make her like _me, _and here Kitty goes taking her away from me, and I…

…

_I hate this game._

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Well… didn't the peacock… Caesar, I think, mention something about that he didn't like it when you spoke to the opposite gender?"

"…True," Kitty said slowly. "But… it doesn't make sense… how would he know about all of that?"

"He stalks you," I informed her.

She gaped at me. "…_Seriously?_"

"Yeah," I shivered a little at that, and I saw from the corner of my eye Garuru clench his fist slightly. Honestly, I'm not that surprised… "I caught him following Pururu around, hence the reason why she's running from him."

Kitty looked at him amusedly. "So you've been chasing her around?"

"…For professional means only," Garuru said under his breath.

"So…" I decided to change the subject back to the matter we were discussing prior. "…If the peacock really does catch you with someone else-"

"Then the meter goes back to the beginning," Kitty finished thoughtfully. "Hm. That sounds about right."

"And it also makes sense for Pururu's situation," I said, glancing at Garuru. "To work so hard only to start over…"

"…Where is she?" Garuru asked slowly. "…I mean… in regards to the relationship status?"

"She's in 'Attraction'… or, at least, that's where she was yesterday when I bumped into her."

"Yeah, that peacock's hard," Kitty said with a small frown. "I barely got to 'Acquaintance' before it went back to 'Stranger'."

"Wow," I scratched the back of my head. "…Geez, poor Pururu."

"I have a theory," Kitty said. "I think the more beautiful an animal is, the harder it is to get them to go up."

"Oh?" I asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is… look," Kitty showed me her tablet. "Look. Henry and Susan- the catfish- are already at 'Love' with me. But for Caesar and Casey, they're a little harder to bring up. I'm thinking it has to do something with their self-esteem… or self-confidence. The more confident they are of their own beauty, then the harder it is to gain their affection, right?"

"I guess that makes sense…" Great. I've got one of the harder-to-woo animals. Though in her defense, she really is so lovely, so very, very lovely-

…

_HATE._

"I also noticed that the higher you are," Kitty continued, though gazing quizzically at me as I began hastily pounding my fists against my head, "The harder it's going to be to get to the next level."

"Like… pokemon?"

"Yeah! You can compare it to pokemon."

"Do you mean Pekoponian?" Garuru interjected.

"No, no, Lieutenant…" I said with a small smile. "Pokemon. It's… it's a game. You train these little animals, and you raise their level up the more you train them. The higher their level gets, the harder it gets to get to the next level."

"I see," Garuru muttered, though by his expression I could tell it didn't make any sense to him. Poor non-Pekoponian alien, deprived of a human childhood and all. He considered a particular thought, and then gazed up at Kitty. "…What I don't understand is, though, is why it's… easy, I suppose you can say, for me to raise the Chief Medic's level? …I mean in regards to _raising her level, _not literally… pursuing her. I've noticed that it is fairly easy to move on from 'stranger' to 'acquaintance' to 'friend'…. If your theory is correct, then wouldn't it be more plausible if someone like her would be a little more difficult to… 'woo'?"

Before I could say he should be grateful for having an easier challenge than some, Kitty inquired with a smirk, "Are you saying you think Pururu's beautiful, Garuru?"

Garuru jumped slightly at this, blinked at her, folded his arms and turned his head away from her. "She's attractive by Keronian standards, I will admit that much…" He cleared his throat. "I am only being factual."

"So maybe my theory's for naught," Kitty said, though she wore this unexplainable silly grin to the Lieutenant. "…Well~" She turned and walked away. "I'm going to go play with Casey now. Bye!"

"S_-….stay away from her_!" I shouted.

Garuru turned to me in interest.

"I-I mean," I stammered, feeling my face grow hot. "Uh…" I cleared my throat. "Nothing, forget it, sorry…"

"…So," Garuru said, facing me completely. "…Will you assist me in the distraction of the bird?"

"Sure, of course," I said, reaching for my chin. "Hm. But to find the peacock, maybe we'll have to find Pururu first…"

"Plausible," Garuru nodded. He looked down at his sleeve. He pulled out his tablet and examined the screen. "Either she or her partner is near the tree-"

"I think that's Ruby," I said. "She's wooing a shrike."

"So the Chief Medic is in the gift shop."

"Meaning Caesar is _also _near the gift shop…" I murmured. "Okay. I'll go there now. I'll try to lead him away from there, and you could flirt with her."

Garuru winced. "I… prefer the term 'associate'…"

"Yeah, I guess you do have to more or less hang out with them… but you also have to say the right thing to her to make her like you more." I paused. "…Hey, Lieutenant? What have you been saying to her?"

"….That's confidential, Cadet."

"By 'confidential' do you mean, 'awkward', or-"

"_Confidential, _Cadet."

"Hehe," I smiled nervously and diverted my eyes away from his slight glower. I then frowned at a particular thought. "…Kitty said that their difficulty might be associated with their self-esteem-"

"Yes, but we already dismissed it as a simple theory," Garuru said off-handedly, walking toward the gift shop, me tailing after him.

"Yeah, but 'self-esteem', Lieutenant," I repeated. "Because you're beautiful doesn't mean you're automatically going to gain that self-confidence."

"…What is your point, Cadet?"

"…What if she doesn't think she's beautiful?"

Garuru gazed at me. "…Why wouldn't she?"

"I dunno." I shrugged. "Judging by Kitty's analysis of the game… I dunno. It makes a little more sense if you see it like that."

"…Hm."

* * *

"Hi, Caesar," I said cheerfully.

The peacock looked at me, bored. "What do you want?"

"Um… to talk?" I moved in sight of his view when Caesar suspiciously craned his neck to look at the other side, where he was trying, I knew, to keep an eye on Pururu. When he jerked his head to the other side, I stepped in that very same direction.

This movement went on for about a couple minutes, until he finally gave up, the colorful bird reaching down to preen it's feathers. "...About what?"

"Oh, I dunno… rainbows, the sky, rubber duckies…"

Caesar didn't answer.

"Or, we could talk about how beautiful you are."

"I'm listening."

* * *

I didn't go right away to Casey. I walked around instead, coming by the pengu….

…

"You're not supposed to be in there!" Saburo said, shaking his head in bewilderment.

Remember the glass that surrounded the penguin pen?

…It now had a huge Stella-shaped hole on it. No, I mean, a _literal _Stella-shaped hole, like the ones in the Looney Tunes cartoons…? Oh yeah.

Saburo played with the key hanging around his neck nervously. "How the heck did she even get in there?"

"She's Stella," I said, surprising him as I walked up to him. "The forever troll. She finds her ways." I peered on the inside and saw her ice skating- or attempting to- with the penguin, the penguin sliding on its belly as it followed her.

…I cleared my throat, and slowly walked away while Saburo continued to chuckle in disbelief while he continually (and failingly) beckoned her to come back.

* * *

The day ended without my gaining anything higher for Casey. I was a little disappointed too, because I earnestly thought I was getting through to her.  
Apparently not.

I glanced up at the clock warily. Three days down… four more to go.

Garuru walked up from behind me.

"How did it go?" I asked him.

He completely ignored me and walked inside the motel, closing the doors before I could come in. Geez, I keep forgetting that aliens completely lack earthen etiquette skills.

That, or he just didn't want to talk about his possibly humiliating scene with Pururu.

Hm.

I'm checking the former.

"How'd it go with the bear?" I asked the salmon-colored tadpole as he followed me inside the motel.

Tororo scowled at me. "_I don't want to talk to you_."

"…Why?" I asked. "What happened?"

He sharply turned to me and pointed accusingly, "_Your poem _SUCKED! Lady didn't like it at all!"

"_What?_" I snapped irritably, absolutely offended. "Why?! What's wrong with it?!"

Tororo shook his head in utter annoyance. "The bear. Hates. _Puns."_

"…I…" I blinked at him confusedly. "…I don't understand …._Puns?_"

"Ah-hem." Tororo gave me a side look as he whipped out the poem from behind himself. "If my heart was a lantern, then you'd be the light, that _warms my **BARE **_soul, and shines through the night."

"…_Ohh…._"

"That's right! It _sucks!_"

"I-I'm sorry… I didn't know…"

"Darn'd right!" he growled, waving it in the air. "You should _think _about what you write instead of spitting it on paper!"

"You were the one who rushed me!"

"Pu! …Fair enough." Tororo continued to look at me sourly. "I'm not sure whether or not I should trust you to write me another one."

"I don't have to write you one, you know," I said dryly. "I'm not exactly on my knees begging you to let me."

"Pu-pu. That's _also _true. However, since you are but a humble idiot and I have all your personal stuff on file, I suggest you convince me otherwise. Pu!"

Ughh. "As much as you claim to hate that Kururu guy, I can't help but realize how eerily similar you act like him."

The look of horror etched on Tororo's face was something that will be forever scarred into my memory. Perfect! Something to laugh at during sad times.

Suddenly, it darkened. "Take. That. _Back._"

"I take it back!" I said, putting my hands up defensively. "I take it- take it all completely back!"

"…Well that was fast," Tororo said flatly. "You didn't even poke fun at me or anything!"

"…Well you have _all my stuff on your laptop_…"

"Pu-pu! True," Tororo nodded. "Alright. I'll let this one _slide,_ but I expect another poem in the morning. _AND NO PUNS! _Or I will release all that stuff into the internet."

I cringed. "Given."

"Pu! Good." He trudged upstairs and left me alone with the pink-haired girl who had been playing something on her computer the whole time, completely oblivious to our little scene.

Rita came inside next, Taruru at her heels.

"Hey," I said welcomingly. "What's up?"

"I got my spider all the way up to 'Crush'," Rita said, smiling widely.

"And my elephant to 'Doesn't-quite-hate-me'," Taruru said helpfully.

I shook my head to Taruru. "There's only like, three more days, you know."

"I'll get there," he told me, waving his hand dismissively.

"I'm gonna go now," Rita said. She murmured a good night and ran up the stairs, Natsumi yelling after her to slow down.

"…So," I said to Taruru. "…You tired?"

"Yeah," the light blue frog said, rubbing his eyes. He yawned. "I'll follow you up."

* * *

"Good morning to you again, Mr. Cadet," Gatsby greeted me, setting down a tiny platter of cookies in the middle of his table. I gazed at it warily. I can't _eat _in a virtual game, can I? "Try one. I know you're tempted. You haven't eaten in, what, four days now, mm?"

That's an amusing thought. _What the heck. _I shrugged and accepted a biscuit, chewing thoughtfully on it.

…It had no flavor. Figures.

"So I continue the rest of Grisly Beard, correct?" Gatsby inquired, gazing at me.

I nodded, and put my unfinished cookie on the cup that was on my spot as I sat down on the chair provided for me.

Gatsby cleared his throat. "Where were we? Ah, yes. The husband finds out about the accident that the girl was in, and understandably, he's very annoyed. He decides to give her one last chance, however, and helps her seek a job in a lovely restaurant. Café. I'm not sure what it is, now that I think of it. Hm. Must be a bouquet hall, yes. Yes, I do believe that it is. Now, at this time, the girl is hired as a little kitchen maid, and she is called out into the hall. There, she notices that a big feast is to be held. When she looks around, she sees that the special guest is no one other than Grisly Beard, the man she had teased so relentlessly what felt like so many nights ago!

"Being heavily distracted by this epiphany, she bumps into another servant and splashes her uniform with food. Oh, the mess! It was all so humiliating, too humiliating to bare for the poor girl, mm. When she desperately tries to leave the scene, to run out the door, someone grabs a hold of her wrist.

"When she turns, she sees it's, to her horror, Grisly Beard.

"'What's the matter?' he asks her in a gentle voice.

"'Please leave me alone!' the girl begs him. 'I'm already married!' But when she takes a closer look at him, she realizes that… this man looks so familiar, and not because she recognized him as the wealthy man at her father's party.

"'Pretty maiden,' Grisly Beard tells her, 'I am your husband. I disguised myself as a traveling merchant in hopes of teaching you a lesson. I was also the drunken knight that had smashed all your pots.

"The girl was so shocked she didn't know what to say, allowing herself to be enveloped into this man's arms.

"'Now let's have a real wedding,' he cheered, and all the servants gave her a real gown, and they lived happily ever after." Gatsby folded his paws into his lap. "The end."

"…That sounds unrealistic."

"…I… beg your pardon?"

"No, no," I chuckled weakly. "S-sorry. Inside joke." I cleared my throat. "But in all seriousness, that was a pretty fascinating story. Really, I didn't see it coming at all."

"True, you typically don't see things coming much at all, especially in times like these."  
_  
Times like these?_ I stared at him, cocking a brow.

"Mm," Gatsby grinned at me, that same mysterious, playful, mischievous grin. "…The moral of this story is to retain a humble attitude. But the lesson is that people… people may not always… be who they may seem." He closed his eyes. "In this story, it ended on a very bright note. But for some revelations…" He reopened them, his pupils glittering like gold specks under a winking sun. "…they may not always have the similar happy endings." His smile grew wider, his small pointed fangs more evident. "Please keep that in mind, dear old boy. I would absolutely _loathe _to see anything… _unfortunate _happen to you."

"What… what do you-"

Why did I even bother.

I stood up from my chair that looked desolate and out of place with its original set gone and left, the empty, echoing cave that never failed to make me feel confused and worried when I stepped into the light.

* * *

"'The stars will never compare, to the loveliness of your stare.'"

Tororo examined it carefully. "…Okay, I can't see a pun, pu, so it'll have to do."

I shook his head at his enthusiasm. "Alright. Whatever you say."

Tororo tucked the poem somewhere. "Do you know where I could find some root beer? Because apparently she likes root beer too..."

"They don't sell any at Giftie's Gift Shop?"

"Nah, I checked there. They said they were out."

"Huh. That's weird. Root beer." I paused, and looked at him pensively, suddenly remembering something random that might be a fascinating story to conjure… "…Hey."

"What is it?"

"…I know this is just_ out there _and it serves no purpose to the plot whatsoever-"

"Fourth wall."

"Yeah, I recognize that I have butchered it again but I don't really care right now. I was just wondering if you could answer a question for me. I mean, since I wrote you that poem and all-"

"Pu-pu! I don't owe you nothing," Tororo said, sticking out his tongue at me. "It was blackmail. Blackmail doesn't count."

"…But what if it was at the expense of your platoon?"

"I'm listening."

"Well," I grinned. "Someone told me something interesting concerning how your platoon sometimes has certain times where they drink…"

"….Yeah?"

"And how sometimes you would like, lock yourself up when they drink sometimes… have you ever seen them drunk before?"

Tororo laughed. "Is that all you wanna know? Pu-pu! Sure, why not. It'll give me a break."

I made myself comfortable by sitting on a nearby bench and gazed at him attentively. "Shoot, little guy."

Tororo gave me a warning glare about the nickname, and I smiled apologetically. After rolling his eyes, he cleared his throat.

* * *

Online chess would have just _went on _had he not realized that he had ran out of a bag of Cheez-Bums (yes they are more delicious than they seem). He blinked at the empty bowl, growled to himself, picked it and himself up, and moved toward the door. When he opened it and stepped out, a chair immediately fell in front of him, startling him

He blinked at it uncertainly.

It… seems as if someone was trying to lock him in…

Too bad the door opened inward from his room, though.

Tororo shook his head, rolling his eyes. It was probably Taruru, the little derp. He sighed to himself and continued walking… when he saw an empty box.

Curious, he stepped over and kneeled down, examining the small sticker on the side.

_To the Garuru Platoon_

_From Headquarters_

_-Good job on another successful mission. We hope you enjoy your reward._

Tororo tilted it to himself again to examine the empty content and scowled. No wonder they didn't mind letting him lock himself up again! They wanted all the goodies to themselves.

Tororo put the bowl in the box and stomped to the main room, where he could have a _word _with the-

Oh boy.

"_I'ma little -hic!-_ _teapot,_" Taruru sang, twirling himself around. "_Fat an'…. Shtuff. Her ish mah…. Pot…. An' mah…. Shtuff." _He fell on his rear and looked up at the ceiling for a few moments, poking a finger up. He hiccupped.

"…_Taruru?_" The private normally acted like an idiot but this felt strange compared to the _other _times he had seen him act like an idiot.

Tororo sauntered over to an empty bottle that he had never seen before and picked it up.

He smelled the inside and grimaced. _Alcohol. _He shivered.

"Are you drunk?" the tadpole asked the slightly older Keronian.

"_Shhhh!_" Taruru giggled, putting a finger on his lips. He then lay down and slowly slid his arms and legs around himself. "I ish making a shnow angel~…."

Tororo rolled his eyes. "I'm going to go get the Chief Medic… she probably has more of a brain than you do right now."

When he went to the _next _room… it wasn't quite what he had expected. At all.

"_WHY DOESHN'T NOBODY REMEMBER ME?!_" Zoruru sobbed, curled in fetal position at the corner. His organic eye was closed, tears escaping from the edge. He hiccupped. "Not… _not Zeroro, _or… or my own froggen _mom…. _-hic!- I dun know if I eben hab a mom!"

"….Scraps?"

"YOU…." Zoruru pointed at him, and then hiccupped. His face was rosy, spreading across his cheeks. "YOU eshpeshly…. YOU ESHPESHLY forget me…. Whash my name?"

"Uh…. Zoruru?"

Zoruru stared at him blankly before he passed out.

Tororo poked at the cyborg's face. "Huh. His robotic body must've short-circuited…" He wrinkled his nose. "Feh. Can't they tell when they've had enough? Pu-pu! The Lieutenant is _not _going to be happy when he sees his…"

There was a girlish giggle that made Tororo stand on end. _Don't tell me… _"Aw, c'mon! Pururu too?" He turned around and paled, seeing the light purple Keronian with her arms around Garuru's neck. They were both blushing heavily, the leader even letting out a hiccup here and there.

Tororo's mouth dropped.

Garuru was just mostly blinking at Pururu in confusion, tilting his head slightly as she nuzzled his chest.

"Let'sh pay a little game that only we adultsh could pay, Lieutenant," she murmured, though her voice carried over to Tororo's nonexistent ears.

The tadpole wasn't sure whether to laugh or sprint for a camera, but he did neither because he couldn't _dare _to miss this.

"A… game?"

"Yesh… A game." Her eyes lowered, and she drew a heart on his chest with her finger.

"…..Yes…." Garuru tilted her chin up to him, and his voice suddenly deepened slightly, growing husky. "What do you have in mind?"

Tororo slipped on an empty bottle and fell on his face in bewilderment.

Pururu's face glowed, her eyes wide. "M-m…. me?"

"I only wish to hear your -_hic!_- opinion."

"I-…. I-I don't know…" Even though she was drunk, she still had _some _sort of common sense, it seemed. But it also seemed she was heavily aware of their situation and was more than willing to take advantage of it. "…What… do _you _have in mind….?"

Garuru stared at her deeply, nearing her face with his own. "…..I'll go get the dominoes." He leapt out of his chair and walked dizzily to a small wooden box near the corner. Pururu only stared at the place where he was just at, before shaking herself out of it and widening her eyes when the leader _actually brought a box of dominoes _and spilled them on the floor. He sat down and began to pile them against each other.

"I like to stackthemup… and then watchthemfall. _Hic._"

"…Lieutenant…" Pururu sunk to her knees next to him, her shoulders sagging slightly in disbelief. She gently leaned against him as he set the fifth domino on top. "…D-…don't you think there'sh a -_hic_- shlightly funner game… than… dominoesss…?"

Garuru looked at his small mess of tiny black blocks and then gazed at her. "…You… you are right…" He stood up, offering his hand to her and pulling her up. "…Checkers."

"_No I mean… _I give up," Pururu said with a gigantic sigh. She kneaded her temples. "You're absolutely _cluelessss, _Lieutenant."

"Clueless….?" Garuru repeated slightly, his voice still a-slur. He hiccupped. "Ish that another game?"

"YESSS! I-I mean, _NO!_" Pururu yelled, stopping short as she reached for her head. She moaned and closed her eyes.

Garuru watched her idly before he walked back over to the table and sat down on the chair. He gazed wearily at his empty glass. "…Chief Medic?"

"….Yesss?" Pururu asked tiredly.

"Yer a medic -_hic-_ are you not?"

Pururu plopped next to him. "I am."

"Good." His head fell against the table. "Do you know when I get my brain back?"

"That'sh…. A good question."

Tororo recorded the rest of the day's events with it, though it didn't last long. In about half an hour, Garuru commanded Pururu to go to bed, to which she happily consented, and he actually stayed at his seat and fell asleep on his arms, his head against the table. Amazingly Pururu just walked by Tororo, not noticing the camcorder that was directed toward her. Zoruru was in the corner somewhere… and Taruru had filled the entire room he was in with popcorn and chocolate sauce.

To this day Tororo still has no idea how that happened.

* * *

Well that totally changes the way I see the platoon now. Especially Garuru, sort of. Strangely enough I can actually see him playing with dominoes… I think I know what my next present to him would be…

"I don't understand how they could _all _let themselves get drunk like that, though…" I muttered. "Like, they typically seem like the type to know when they've had enough…"

"Pu! That's what my original thought was," Tororo said, tossing the now completely empty bag in the garbage can. "But remember how I had one of the empty bottles that HQ sent us…? Turns out, it was made in Ghastesia. Ghastesians have a higher alcohol tolerance level than Keronians; in fact, they had added an extra ingredient to make it super strong. One cup is all that is needed to make a Keronian drunk."

"One extra ingredient?"

Tororo shrugged. "They call it Chemical X. Pu! It sounds poisonous to me, but apparently Ghastesians like that extra kick."

I smirked. "I see." Imagining the Lieutenant drunk, though… Oh. Wait. "But… did you just mention earlier that Zoruru was also drunk?"

"Right," Tororo nodded.

"But… I thought he only passed out-?"

"Pu-pu! Is that what he told you?" Tororo asked with a grin. "Pu! No. Though, in his defense, he probably can't remember what he does when he's drunk; you typically get this little amnesia when you're under the influence. Feh!" He shook his head. "I'm _never _going to drink alcohol."

There goes Zoruru's dreams of introducing the tadpole to that.

"Well, that was a nice break and all," Tororo said as he stood up, stretching. "Pu-pu~ … Now to woo the bear." He grimaced. "…Woo… a bear."

"Where are you at, by the way?"

Tororo pulled out his tablet. "I'm at 'Lover'."

"_What?_!_" _I couldn't believe it. "H-how the heck did you get there so quickly?!"

"I told you I play the games," Tororo said with a small huff. "…Plus Kitty was helping me."

I was unable to control rolling my eyes slightly. "I see."

"So how far are you with your…?" He waited.

"…Unicorn?"

"Unicorn!"

"Um…" I rubbed the back of my neck. "I'm still at the 'Attraction' stage."

"Oh. Well, then did you unlock the first Romance Scene?"

"…Romance Scene-?"

Tororo blushed slightly. "You have to say something that will activate that scene, and then your, uh, animal's level will immediately go up."

I paled. "I don't have to _kiss_ her, do I?!"

"Nah, pu! It's mostly like a little date thing. It doesn't even last that long, pu-pu."

"…Good." I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed, so I settled on neither. I hate awkwardness. Rita would probably find it funny, though. "How do I, um… activate that event?"

"Oh. You have to ask them out." Tororo tilted his head at me. "Hasn't she made some sort of indication that she wanted you to take her out on a date or something?"

"…Uh…"

…_Oh. _Ohh. _Ohhhh…. _

"No, she hasn't."

"Hmm," Tororo perked a brow at me. "Still, ask her or something. She might surprise you."

* * *

And that she did.

I could beautifully detail the wonderful and romantic afternoon of Johnny Cadet and Casey the Unicorn, but that would be too lip-bitingly embarrassing, so I'm going to move on and focus on the Lieutenant's humiliation instead, because a humiliated Garuru is always the better course to go, _right?_

I'm such a great friend.

…Being serious here, I… honestly couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy. Because apparently he was still (quite literally) pursuing Pururu.

For a little while I entertained myself by watching Pururu skitter by and count down the seconds it took Garuru to cross the same path she did.

It usually varied between five to ten seconds.

I sat down on the bench and in the span of ten minutes watched the two run past be four times. By the fifth time, Pururu was still running; Garuru was out of breath.

"Want to take a break?" I supplied helpfully.

Garuru sat down and swallowed gulps of air.

"I was told that it would be better to not bend down like that… helps the lungs, you know?"

He gave me a glance, and I embarrassedly looked away. What the heck am I saying? Alien frogs and human should have some sort of different biology-thingie, right…?

"Are you at 'attraction' yet?"

"No…"

"…Oh. Sorry."

"I feel as if I'm close, however…"

"Oh? What makes you think that?"

Garuru gazed up at the sky. "…It's just a feeling, Cadet. I'm not too sure."

"Oh."

We both sat/stood in awkward silence. I finally cleared my throat, directing his attention to me.

"…Well, I'm sure someone as charming and handsome as you could easily capture Pururu's heart-"

"Please don't make me shoot you, Cadet."

I grinned wryly. "Sorry. Couldn't help it."

"Chief Medic's partner promised she would help earlier today," he mused, standing up. "I could happily inform her of that if only she didn't run away…"

I'm assuming now he was talking about Pururu. I folded my arms. "Star-crossed lovers. The purple froggy version of Romeo and Juliet-"

"_Final warning, Cadet._"

I snickered. "Last one. I promise." I had almost forgotten that he knew the reference from my telling it and all. "I have an idea, though. Why don't you have Ruby tell Pururu? That way, Pururu'll come looking for you instead of the other way around."

Garuru's face took on a thoughtful expression. "I'll keep that in mind." He pulled out a bag of sour gummy worms out of nowhere and tossed them to me. They hopped clumsily in my hands and fell to the floor. "I forget that I'll have to train you to catch things like that," he told me dryly.

"Oh really?" I asked, kneeling down to pick it up. "And how are you going to do that?"

"Simple; I'll throw bombs at you. If you drop them, they will explode and send you onto somebody else's rooftop."

I stared at him, dreadfully hoping he was fooling around. But as usual, his voice was deadpanned, his stance was erect, and his face was… his face.

"…That's illegal here, Lieutenant."

"What your country doesn't know won't hurt them."

I winced. "And… um… our skulls… see our skulls?" I knocked my fist against it. "Fragile. Fragile fragile fragile. Not like Keronian skulls."

"…How fragile?"

"Um… a baseball going at full speed could probably send someone to a coma, Lieutenant."

Garuru looked disappointed. "I see. Well, then. I suppose I'll have to come up with a more creative method to suit your weak specific needs."

…._Well. _I wasn't sure whether to be relieved, grateful, or insulted. That Keronian could sure pull a heck of a lot of reactions from one single sentence…

Garuru pushed the hat back onto his… other hat. Huh. I've never thought of it like that before. "I suppose I'll be off. I will see you later today then, Cadet."

"Um… okay. Bye." And again he walks off.

Why does everyone do that to me?!

I must not be special.

…I wish I had my pet stick with me.

* * *

"You're really into that uniform of yours, aren't you?"

I squeaked slightly, not quite expecting the first class private to be standing on my head.

…

Trust me, I wish I was joking.

"Wh-why-? _How-?_"

"You seem so _passionate,_" Taruru continued, nodding to Casey. "Yeah. It's like you actually _like _her or something-"

"_I don't like her!_"

The light blue frog nodded. "Oh. Okay." He was then quiet for a still moment, sitting on my head.

"…Can you please get off n-"

"Then who _do _you like?"

I stared up at him. "…Huh?"

"C'mon, Johnny; there are four very pretty Pekoponian girls around you! You can't tell me that you don't have a thing for _any _of them."

"…But I _don't_." I waved my hand in a circular motion. "I honestly don't have anything for them. I'm poor."

It took a while for Taruru to understand what I said, and when he did, he lowered his eyelids and rested his elbow on my scalp, his cheek against his palm. "That wasn't funny."

"What wasn't?"

He shook his head. "Point is, they're all around your age range, right? And you've known them for a while-"

"Not really," I interjected. "Except Stella; I've known her for about two or three years now. But the others… I met them a month ago, Taruru."

"…And you're not even interested in Stella? You're not interested in _any _one?"

"_No, _I'm _not. _I don't like girls."

Taruru's eyes widened slightly before they relaxed. "…Oh. _I _see."

"Yeah," I grinned sheepishly. "I'm really not into all of that-"

"I knew it," Taruru said, a look of seriousness in his eyes. "_I knew it!_"

"You… knew wh-?" I paused, and then recollected what I had just said. My face paled. _"OR GUYS. _I _don't _like girls _or _guys!"

"But that makes no sense," Taruru frowned at me. "You have to like _something._"

I took out my cell phone. "Here. I'll show you my girlfriend."

Again, his eyes widened, though this time his pupils dilated (if that was even possible at all). "Y-… _you have a girlfriend?!_" He immediately snatched my phone from my hand and examined it. His eyes relaxed again as he shot me an irritated look. "_Ha-ha_."

"But isn't she cute?" I asked, looking at the little five year old in my tiny screen with adoration. "I baby-sit her. Sometimes she'll call me her boyfriend, too. Especially when I give her cake." I looked up at Taruru and said in explanation, "She likes cake."

Taruru stared at it for a while, and then wrinkled his nose. "Wait. Why do you have your phone-?"

"No clue." I shrugged and then folded my arms after he gave me back my phone. "Why are you so interested anyway, Taruru? Not that it isn't unusual for you to ask personal questions, but you seem... I don't know... I guess the word would be 'insistent'...? It's kind of weird."

He sagged his shoulders. "I don't know. I'm feeling all _defensive _for some reason."

"…_Defensive?"_

"Yeah. Like…" He stuck out his tongue in thought, and some of his saliva fell on my nose. _Lovely. _"I don't know how to explain it. You know how Theresa-"

"La'Fawnda," I reminded him.

"-_La'Fawnda_ just uses her trunk to blow me away until I hit something hard and/or squishy?" Taruru meditated on this before he finally confessed, "I think I'm in love with her."

"…._SO I WAS RIGHT!_" I _swear _my tears must've shown with the glory of the sunlight. "_YES YES YES! I KNEW IT!_" I wept joyfully into my arm, and Taruru continued to watch me confusedly.

Until I remembered it was Taruru who was on my head telling me this, and then I began to cry with misery instead.

"Never mind."

Taruru only gazed at me questioningly.

I threw my eye drops over my shoulder and picked him up to place him on the ground, just realizing that I could've done that at any time.

"I have a theory," I said. "I think Kururu reprogrammed our data to fall in love with the animal we're wooing."

"…Huh. Makes sense."

Well… it didn't seem like he had trouble believing it at all.

…Then again, this was _Kururu _we're talking about…

"I guess I'm kind of relieved?" Taruru said, more in question then answer. "…Wait. Why do you-?"

"U-uh, I'm guessing?"

"Okay." He rested his arms against each other. "So, everyone is falling in love with their animal, do you think?"

"I suppose."

Taruru grinned slightly. "..Does that mean Garuru's going to, um… fall in love with Pururu?"

My face paled at the idea. "D-don't say stuff like that…"

"Why not?"

"It's weird. A-and the thought isn't going to leave my head."

"Makes for good blackmail, though."

….He has a point.

Though I probably should keep quiet about how my falling in love with a flipping _unicorn _would _also _make for good blackmail.

I coughed politely into my bare fist. "S-so, um… I'm going to, uh… change the subject. Because this section is getting stupidly slow and really awkward. How are you today?"

"La'Fawnda smashed me into a wall, so I'm pretty good."

That explains the swollen eye. "How far along are you, by the way?"

Taruru shrugged. "I've gotten her to 'friend'."

"Oh, wow."

"I know, right?" He grinned. "Turns out I can actually get along several sentences without saying her name. And then I found out she likes guitar-shoes. What were the odds, right?

"…Guitar-shoes?"

"I have no clue." He jerked a thumb over a shoulder. "As fun as it is talking to you, Johnny, I think I'm going to go see if I could try and get Shina's-"

"La'Fawnda."

"-La'Fawnda's thing to go up more. Almost two more days, right?"

I glanced warily at the clock. The 'minute' hand ticked to the right. "Yeah."

"Keep up the good work!" he cried out with a wave, running off.

He was taking this strangely well. Disturbingly well, actually.

Huh. Falling in love with elephants must be a regular thing with him.

* * *

"Aye, ye understand what're y' doin', lassie!" the spider spun around, its web falling gracefully behind it. "Close, s' vury, vury close! Watch as I do another back flip!" He did so, catching himself on the thin, white, fragile-looking thread.

"What's his name?" I asked Rita.

Rita gave me a side glance and grinned. "Patrick."

"Patrick?"

She shrugged. "It's fun watching him. But I like him! I can say the weirdest things and he'll say something weird back! Listen!" She cleared her throat. "Patrick? What's the difference between a shoe and a cell phone?"

"Ah, that is an easy one!" Patrick stopped spinning and landed on his web, looking at her with all eyes, seriousness burned on his face. "It's n' use boilin' y' cabbage twice."

Rita giggled. "See?"

"A… very interesting spider."

"How are you doing with your unicorn?"

"She has a crush on me now."

"That's cute," Rita said, folding her arms behind her. "Patrick has a crush on me now, too. Only it doesn't seem like he wants to admit it." She turned to him again. "Patrick, do you like me?"

"Only a fool would pr'fer food t' a woman."

"He keeps saying that," Rita said as she made a funny face. "Weird, huh?"

"I… guess it makes sense? …No, not really. Sorry, Rita."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"It's a bad habit, okay?"

"If ye 'ave t' swallow a frog, don' think about it," Patrick interrupted us, staring at me intently. "If ye 'ave t' swallow _two _frogs, don' swallow th' smaller one first."

"I'll, um, keep that in mind," I said with a nervous chuckle.

"So does that mean I'll have to swallow Taruru first, _and then _Tororo?" Rita wrinkled her nose distastefully at the idea. "….._Yeuch._"

"Yeah, don't…"

* * *

The sun was beginning to set again, the air tingling the skin with cool breeze. I shivered and hugged myself, grateful for the long sleeve over me.

"…_I think you're beautiful, too-_"

"_Yet there you are flirting with that little cretin of a fowl. Ha. I believe you, all right._"

To the side I saw Ruby barely managing to talk to the peacock, the arrogant bird shaking its head at their conversation. Garuru was probably off somewhere with Pururu about now, also barely managing to carry on a conversation. I guess that must mean they're around here too…

"_Grrrr….."_

I jerked slightly to the side and looked about.

A deep rumble purred across from somewhere. A growl. A throaty snarl belonging to a… a dog? Do... we _have _dogs in this zoo...? I tilted my head to the side and closed my eyes. It had sounded fairly close…

After a few minutes of standing still, I heard nothing, and dismissed it as nothing. It couldn't have been… _too _important…

I pulled out my tablet and gazed at the screen. Pururu's and Garuru's symbol were literally about a few ways from here, seventeen, maybe twenty steps away.

…Hm.

* * *

"…A… another one, Lieutenant?"

"Didn't you like the rose I gave you yesterday?"

Pururu bit her lower lip, a pink blush spreading across her cheeks. She had her hand to her chest, hesitantly opening and closing as if she was debating whether or not she should take it.

Garuru just stood there with his arm outstretched, the pink flower directed toward her. She swallowed anxiously and gave him a shaky smile. "Th-thank you, Lieutenant."

"It's difficult to call me by my first name, isn't it?"

"It is," Pururu said with a nervous chuckle. She tucked the rose loosely against her blouse, not sure what else to do with it.

An awkward silence accented the cool air.

Garuru cleared his throat. "I… understand that your…" He took out his iPad-esque thing and gazed at it tiredly. "I understand that your 'peacock' has been following you around. Is this true?"

"…Yes," Pururu said in a tiny voice. She bowed. "I-I apologize, Lieutenant. I-I suppose that I should have told you this sooner."

"…I still would have to pursue you either way."

She shot her head toward him, her face turning even more red. "R-really?"

"Of course."

Pururu's eyes glided down to the floor, where their shadows were slowly stretching in height. "…L… Garuru?"

Pleased that she finally used his name, he gazed at her. "Yes?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"…Cadet made it aware for me that even if I told you, your data would only be reprogrammed to forget within a span of a few hours."

"Yes… he told me that," Pururu said with a small frown. "And… you already explained why you're…" She blushed at this. "…Err… coming after me?"

Garuru nodded. "I did. So I suppose it would be a waste of breath to tell you again." He glanced at his screen and frowned again. "…Pururu."

"Yes?"

"Are you aware of…" his voice drifted off, and he looked to the side, where he could easily see the sun setting.

"…Am… am I aware of what?"

"…Nothing."

"No… you can tell me." Pururu gave him a small smile. "Given the situation, I promise I won't la-"

"Are you aware of the fact that you areattractive?" Garuru's stiff body gave me the impression that he was insanely uncomfortable, having, I'm guessing, absolutely no knowledge on how to woo a woman or anything resembling the opposite sex. He cleared his throat again, refusing to make eye contact with her.

Pururu's face was glowing. "I-I…" She sucked in a breath and bowed again. "Th-thank you."

"Whatever for? I am merely stating the facts."

Pururu nodded timidly, raising her head from her humble position.

Quietness swallowed everything up again.

"…I suppose we should be leaving now."

"…Yes. Ruby must be done with the… err… p-peacock. Caesar. It would probably be best."

Garuru saluted her, uttered a soft "Good night,", and hastily left the scene, looking strangely confused, with Pururu barely able to respond with the similar gesture.

* * *

"_If I'm falling in love with that catfish there's going to be blood_," Zoruru seethed, his face darkening, his eye glowing. "_And lots of it._"

Garuru blinked at him quizzically, having just entered the conversation Taruru and Tororo were having with the cybernetic ninja. "… 'falling in love'?"

"It's another theory," Taruru explained with a grin. "We think that we're falling in love with the animals we're trying to get a kiss on the cheek from."

"…Why?"

"I don't know. Kururu's trolling us again?"

Garuru was silent, contemplating on these words.

"Pu! I said it before, and I'll say it again: I _only _like playing this game to break girls' hearts!" Tororo paused for a moment, and then grumbled irritably, "_If only Kururu's games didn't have the stupid _girls _break up with _us _first._"

"Wait, what?" I looked at Tororo. "…Kururu actually… makes games like this more than _once_?"

"Sure," Tororo shrugged. "The creep has a weird taste in what he thinks is _fun_. Apparently working really hard to make the girls fall in love with you only for them to reject you in the end is _his _idea of fun. Jerk."

"I wonder if that'll happen in this game?" I mused. My heart sank with that idea in mind, thinking about…

Stickers.. Grapes. Shoes. SOCKS. STRAIGHT HAIRED POODLES. THEECONOMICTHEORY.

"…That makes sense…"

I glanced at Garuru, who was looking out the window.

"What makes sense, Lieutenant?"

Garuru glared slightly at me. "…It is, quite frankly, none of your business, Cadet."

"…Are you, um…" I gave him a weak smile. "…Are you falling in love with Pururu?"

Taruru, Tororo, and Zoruru (who fell off of his place on the ceiling) turned to us, shocked.

The purple frog stared at me, just as, though much more subtly, startled by my question. "Don't… don't be ridiculous, Cadet."

"It's just a game," I reminded him gently. "It'll be over soon. How far are you with Pururu?"

He coughed, losing eye contact with me. "…'Squish'."

"…'Squish'?" I blinked at him, and then tried not to laugh. "…Do you mean 'Crush', Lieutenant?"

"Yes. I am at that point."

"I need some fresh air," Zoruru mumbled suddenly, dashing out the window.

I opened my mouth to mention that we weren't allowed outside, but it was stupid to say anything about it anyway. He was already gone. Besides, I was sure he was able to remain as safely hidden as he usually was; what were the odds that an assassin that could melt into the shadows could be caught by a security guard/zoo keeper that couldn't even keep a Stella out of a penguin pen?

Tororo snapped himself out of it to look at the spot where Zoruru just ran off to. "Where'd Scraps go?"

"Scraps?"

Taruru gave Garuru an interesting look, but the former answered my inquiry nonchalantly, "It's a nickname Tororo gave to Zoruru. I don't know why; I guess he likes the idea of calling him an ol' scrap of metal."

"That isn't very nice," I said blandly.

"I don't say it to _insult _him," Tororo said defensively, folding his arms. "It's just something I like to call him. It's an… affectionate nickname, if you will."

"Thinking about it, I guess you two would be pretty close, huh?" I observed. "You pretty much being their technician and all-"

"Eh, more or less," Tororo interrupted casually, probably not as eager to refer to the sentimentals. "He doesn't mind me calling him Scraps, so it's no big deal. If he tells me to stop, I'll stop."

"I am going to bed now," Garuru said to no one in particular- or perhaps the whole room in general. "Good night, everyone."

* * *

The next morning, Gatsby wasn't there.

The cave was empty and dark, the chair that I had sat in yesterday still where I had left it.

I waited for a while, morbidly disappointed when I realized that since he finished his story the day before, he probably had served his purpose for the game and hence disappeared.

I wasn't sure whether or not Kururu designed him to come back again sometime in the future, but I had this strange foreboding sense that I was going to see him again; it just didn't make sense to me that he would appear to me in the first game and then barely introduce himself the second time I saw him.

At least, as a writer I think so…

I stepped out of the cave and turned around to face the mouth.

With a defeated sigh, I walked away.

* * *

"Do you think I should like, talk normally?"

"What do you mean?"

Casey neighed slightly, though much gentler and sweeter than the first time I met her. "Cuz, you know, sometimes I like, _totally _get the sense that, like, I talk weird."

"No! I think you sound… normal."

"But you don't, like, talk like me."

"..I don't… but we're different, so..."

"True that." She nodded eagerly.

And that was about as average as our conversation got, because right after that, she started talking about how her ex-boyfriend's girlfriend's sister's cousin's friend's daughter realized that her life was a lie and that she learned that she was a turtle all along.

…Weird story, don't make me elaborate.

_I beg of you._

* * *

"_Ku-ku-ku-ku! _Mission complete for Lance Corporal Zoruru~"

Zoruru was trying to rub something off his cheek with his organic hand.

"What's up, Zoruru?" I asked, perking a brow. "You got something on your face?"

"Is it off?" When the frog pulled his hand away, a red lipstick kiss-shaped mark revealed itself to me. I grinned.

"No, it's still there."

"_Censorship!_" Zoruru rubbed his cheek even harder.

When I saw it still didn't come off, I mentioned that it was probably designed to stay on the face. He glowered sourly at the ground.

"What happened to Susan?" I asked.

"She dumped me."

I rose my eyebrows.

"_You mention that to anyone your life is over._"

"D-done," I stammered. I looked up thoughtfully. "Now _you're_ done, though. Aren't you glad that it's over with?"

"I suppose…"

I glanced over my shoulder at the catfish pen. "I guess Tororo mentioning Kururu's habits of making the girls dumping you in a dating sim were right."

"I'm going to kill him."

"I bet you are, Zoruru. I bet you are." I folded my arms, feeling the urge to pat him on the head but knowing full well that I have limbs and that I desperately wanted to keep them connected to my body. "So are you going to go find Stella now? What are you going to do now that you're free?"

"…Things that you shouldn't be too concerned about," Zoruru said dismissively. He left without saying anything, and I merely accepted it, walking away.

* * *

"You aren't running any more?"

Garuru glimpsed up at me from the bench he was sitting on.

"I don't have to."

"You just want her to get it over with? Or maybe you're relying on strategy...? Or something?"

Garuru shrugged a shoulder despondently. "I suppose." His eyes wandered off, lost in thought. I sat next to him. "…Cadet."

"Yeah?"

"…I have a strange tight feeling in my chest."

I bit my lower lip. "You might want to see Pururu for that, or a doctor." I looked around. "I wonder if there's one around…"

"…I feel…" Garuru said slowly, making me return my attention toward him. He seemed… embarrassed, almost, but he still managed to retain the dignity that he actually always had. "I believe there is something wrong with me, but… but I am unsure what."

"I think that's everyone," I said, shaking my head. "Yeah. Especially with me in regards to my unicorn."

Garuru watched me amusedly. "…'Your' unicorn, Cadet?"

I laughed nervously and dropped my head into my hands. "I need to get out of here."

"As do I-"

"_You!_"

Garuru jumped off his seat and resumed an offensive position, materializing a rifle into his hand.

Caesar leapt out of the bushes and rushed toward the purple Keronian, stopping in front of him, spiking its feathers threateningly. I watched, frozen, honestly not sure what to do.

"_Stay away from her_," Caesar growled.

…Growled? Huh. Didn't think birds _could _growl…

"Interesting. I was about to say the same to you," Garuru said coolly, his eyes sparking slightly.

"She loves _me,_" the peacock continued, his head rising.

Garuru closed his eyes, trying to keep his annoyance back. "Please be aware that this is but a _simulation_. It is _not _real. I doubt that she has any realistic feelings toward you, so I suggest you be reasonable about this until the game ends." He reopened them, revealing a rather surprising flare of contained anger. "…After all… nobody wants to get hurt."

Caesar hissed, ducking his head and clawing his talons against the ground. His tail feathers were fanned out, their bright colors flashing slightly in the sun. "_Stay away from her. _I _mean _it."

The peacock pounced back into the bushes and disappeared, gone.

"…When Pururu said Caesar was territorial…" I murmured. "…She wasn't joking at all."

"None of this is a joke," Garuru said with a scowl. "Which is why I don't appreciate the Sergeant Major treating it as one."

I nodded shyly.

Garuru dispersed the matter in his hand. "…Well. How long do you think we'll have to stay here, Cadet?"

"Um… Zoruru already got his catfish to give him a kiss on the cheek… and I know for a fact Tororo's almost the-"

"_Ku-ku-ku-ku~ _Mission complete for New Recruit Tororo~"

"There you go," I said.

"And how are you coming along?"

"I'm already in 'love'," I said, realizing all too slowly that that sounded ironic as soon as I said it. Garuru even smirked at me a little, and I felt my face burn with humiliation. "H-hush."

Kitty walked over to me, her shoulders sagging.

"…Kitty?" I frowned a bit at her. "Something wrong?"

"I'm in all kinds of awkward, Johnny," Kitty sighed.

"Why?"

"All the animals figured out I've been cheating on all of them," she said sadly. "And now it's kind of weird talking to them because they know. Except the peacock, cuz he's a jerk."

"…Even Casey?"

"Even Casey-"

"_Yes! _I-I mean…" I coughed casually. "That's such a shame. I'm sorry."

Kitty gave me a funny look before she continued, "But yeah. The only one who'll talk to me is Henry."

I blinked at her, and then tilted my head slightly. "Hey, Kitty?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you, um… do you _actually _like any of the animals you were pursuing?"

"…Uh…"

"Ha, yeah that was a stupid question…" I immediately turned away, my face exploding in an unnatural red color.

Even Garuru seemed embarrassed by that inquiry. He just left.

"How are you with Henry?" I asked.

"He's in the 'love' stage," Kitty responded. "I think I only have one more to go."

"Soul mate…"

"Correct."

"Same here." I looked up at the sky. "I just want to leave."

"Call me weird, but I don't," Kitty said, leaning against her chair. "I really have a lot of fun in these virtual worlds Kururu makes… they make me forget reality for a little bit."

I gazed at her. "…Yeah. I guess you're right." I looked up and caught the clouds drifting lazily by. "…But we all have to wake up soon…"

Kitty closed her eyes and relaxed. "I'd rather stay asleep here forever."

* * *

"_Ku-ku-ku-ku_. Mission Complete for Stella Garcia."

I sighed. "…_Stella…_"

Stella looked bluer than usual. _Blue. _Hm. Is that normal?

"I'm c-c-c-cold…" she stammered, holding herself.

I smiled and rolled my eyes up as I pulled off my long sleeve. "Here."

"H-huh?"

"Take it." I draped it around her shoulders. "I'm not sure _how _real this game is, but I don't want you to get sick either way."

Stella smiled at me gratefully. "Th-thanks."

"No problemo, Stell." I looked at her cheek automatically, wondering if she had a lipstick kiss-shaped mark too. But because I'm an idiot, I poked at my own and asked her where it was. She just laughed.

"They g-give us stuff, Johnny, remember?" she tittered. She stretched out her hand and opened her palm. A small pebble sat in the middle of it, black and smooth and warm. I touched it.

"A rock?"

"Y-yeah. P-penguins give rocks sometimes... I th-think."

"…Did he dump you?"

"Y-yeah," Stella blinked at me. "H-how did _you _know?"

"Zoruru finished his objective," I replied. "And he told me."

"Oh."

I took her to a bench and made her sit down. "Warm up. You can keep my jacket if you want."

"I-I'll give it back."

"Don't worry about it. Just don't turn into a beast and slash me around with a sword, okay?"

"...Uh... o-okay?"

* * *

"_Ku-ku-ku-ku_. Mission Complete for Ruby Snow."

"You know one of the guys from the movie 'Twelve Angry Men' is actually the original Piglet from Winnie the Pooh?"

"What…?"

I was bored, and craving for a real conversation after talking to Casey.

You know, it's so weird how I could switch from thinking of her as an annoying unicorn to someone actually endearing and kind and sweet and lovable and…

…

You didn't hear that last part. _Cough. _

"Sorry."

"You're fine," Ruby giggled. She sighed sadly afterward, though. "It was fun while it lasted."

"Did he break up with you?"

"Yeah…" She nodded.

"_Do you hear me?!_"

"I-I'm sorry-"

Ruby and I shot our attention to Pururu, who was trying to talk to the peacock. His feathers were in disarray almost, the small tufts floating about him. He looked truly irritated.

…Wasn't this the bird that was so charismatic just the day before?

"This is going too far," Ruby muttered, clenching her fist. She took a few steps toward them but I quickly grabbed her wrist.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now," I said softly. "You could make it worse-"

A dog's snarl caught me off guard.

The peacock had lunged for Pururu and ripped the rose Garuru had given her right off her shirt, snapping the flower into unrecognizable pink pieces. They fluttered like blood-stained feathers to the ground.

"_Stay. Away from him_." Caesar jerked his head toward the clock tower. "You only have but two more days, correct? If you lose me, you lose the game. Do you understand, Pururu?"

"Yes, but-"

"Oh, and by the way? I know what you've been doing." The peacock began to pace around her. "Trying to distract me, _humph. _There's nothing wrong with a little _surveillance, _lovely. Nothing wrong at all. To be fair, this game works only one way: I catch you with another of your opposite gender, you start over. Simple as that. And as of yet, I haven't actually _seen _you with anyone- but I absolutely know you're seeing someone else behind my back." He stopped and faced her. "Let's just say it isn't quite a good idea to be doing that, mm? So I suggest that you stay with _me _and don't bother with the toad. Regardless of who tries to come talk to me I'll still follow you. You're mine- remember that."

Pururu looked like she was about to retort when Caesar automatically dismissed her, disappearing behind the bushes again. The light purple Keronian blinked nervously at where he was just at before turning her attention to the pieces of the flower Garuru had given her prior. She sat down and picked them up, gazing at them with a glossy look in her eye.

"_Let go, Johnny_."

I blushed and released her, forgetting that I had held on to Ruby this whole time. The girl ran to Pururu's aid and kneeled beside her, worriedly asking her what was wrong.

Honestly, you can't blame me for being worried; I thought the second Ruby ran into those two Caesar would maul at her until she was... I shuddered, feeling the mental pain of what she might have felt.

That bird… there's just something about that bird that seems a little… off.

* * *

I was there when he snapped at Pururu, but I honestly didn't care.

Truthfully, the peacock scared me a little, and he honestly seemed more than a little aggravated than he usually was when I visited him. He was a little better when I brought up how beautiful and glorious he was compared to inferior ol' me, so it was good for a bit.

Meanwhile, Garuru wooed Pururu.

Still weird. No matter how many times I've said it already, it's still weird.

When it grew dark, I bid the bird a good night and retreated to the motel, where I bumped into the purple Keronian. And, call me crazy, but… Garuru actually looked… happy. Don't get me wrong; it's not like he was skipping or singing with joy (ohfrogthatmentalimage), but he just _looked _happier than his typical apathetic expression.

How do I explain it?

Just a soft smile, I guess you can say. A soft, genuinely touching smile that made you feel good.

Apparently it was weird on all sorts of levels for his platoon, too.

"…Are you feeling all right, Lieutenant?" Tororo asked, his eye going upward slightly.

"Hm?"

"I said are you feeling all right?"

"Of course," he murmured dismissively. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're just…" Taruru puckered out his lips in thought. "I don't know, actually. You just look strange today."

"He's smiling," Zoruru said with a roll of his eyes. "It's not unusual for Keronians to smile-"

"Correction," Tororo interjected, "It's not unusual for _normal _Keronians to smile. You and the Lieutenant are in a different category."

Zoruru responded with a scowl.

"It's nothing," Garuru said slowly, his smile immediately easing into his usual frown. He seemed troubled, now. "I'm tired. I just want to sleep."

"Okay, Lieutenant, whatever you say…"

* * *

I knew it was a lost cause, but I couldn't help it.

I pushed the tape away and slipped inside the dark cave, feeling the walls scrape against my fingers as I walked by. My chair was still there, idly at the side. I sat down, crossed my arms, closed my eyes.

And I just waited.

A cool air hit my face, but strangely, it wasn't from the exit of the cave; rather, it was in front of me. I already knew it the second I heard the voice.

"…I'm flattered, old boy."

I opened my eyes.

Gatsby was grinning at me, an amused glint in his eye. "I didn't think you would actually come by even after our time was over. Tsk, tsk. I keep forgetting how curious you are."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, please." He leaned against his chair. "It's a shame, however, because I can't seem to think of anything useful to say to you."

"…Useful?"

"Ignore me, Mr. Cadet," Gatsby's tail twitched slightly, his eyes gliding to the ceiling. "…Perhaps…" He smirked slightly. "…Perhaps I could provide you with something else."

"…Something else?"

The fox folded his fingers together, and his playful face, while still retaining that cheerful aspect, looked a little more serious, a little more secretive. "…Beware of Kurtz."

"Kurtz?"

"That's what I named him." Gatsby nodded. "Yes. Beware of Kurtz."

"Who's…" I tried to think if any of the virtual people in this game were named Kurtz… I got none. It honestly didn't sound familiar. "Who's Kurtz…?"

"What force and strength cannot get through, I with a gentle touch can do. And many in the street would stand, were I not a friend at hand." Gatsby said suddenly. "…What does that mean?"

He just switched onto a different subject so suddenly. I stared at him in disbelief. "_What?_"

"Ah-ah-ah. You have to figure that one out on your own," Gatsby said, his tongue running along his teeth. "Thinking about it now, I've been awfully generous to you and your crew, Mr. Cadet. Awfully generous. More so than someone of my kind should be." He shook his head and clicked his tongue. "But I suppose it's only because you amuse me. You and your crew. I do love to watch you."

I didn't understand, but I nodded anyway. "…Okay."

"Keep those things in mind," Gatsby held up three fingers. "Grisly beard. Kurtz. My simple riddle. I'll see you soon, old boy."

And he disappeared, once again, just like that.

* * *

"Hey, you got it!" Taruru said with a grin, poking my cheek. I was just kind of sitting there, depressed, wondering about this virtual life and how frogging real it all felt. "Something wrong?"

"She broke up with me."

"Ahhhh. Too bad, so sad."

"See, this is why I don't get a girlfriend," I sighed.

"Oh. Okay. Do you know where Tiffientjakas is?"

…

Okay, wow. "Wait. La'Fawnda got out of her cage?" How the heck could you miss an animal _that big _anyway?

"What?! No, not _her. _I was talking about that other guy. You know, the one in our platoon, the one that no one remembers his name to…"

"….Zoruru?"

"Yeah! That's the one!"

I… honestly decided not to comment on that one.

"No… I… haven't see him."

"Oh. Shame."

"_Ku-ku-ku-ku! _Mission Complete for Rita Delanogan."

"I feel bad that this chapter didn't focus a lot on your partner, Taruru," I said. "Maybe she'll have a bigger part later."

"Fourth wall, Johnny."

"Don't worry about it. _I took care of it._" I showed him the pieces of glass on the floor, and then demonstrated the kitchen knife, the hammer and the bag of steak from behind my back.

Taruru stared at me. "…Where the heck did you find that?"

"Oh. They were just lying around. _What were the odds, right?_"

"That totally makes sense!"

I shall never question that boy's logic again.

Then again, I stopped questioning logic in general a long time ago. You know there's now something called 'Johnny Logic'? Oh, yeah. And it's amazing.

…I really need to get out of this game.

"_Ku-ku-ku-ku! _Mission Complete for Kitty Delanogan~"

"Geez," I muttered. "Everyone's just finishing their game."

"Well, yeah. Everyone was more or less the same exact spot, right?"

"But… what about you?"

Taruru grinned proudly. "'Crush.'"

"Oh, wow. Nice job."

"Yeah. Well," Taruru said, rubbing his chest. "I just have this _way with the women_."

"I bet you do, Taruru." I decided it would be best not to bring up the fact that this was just a game. I mean, it's not like you could actually make a girl love you if you gave her sour gummy worms or guitar-shoes, right?

….I'm actually not sure.

"How many people left, Johnny?" Taruru asked me.

"Um… Okay, so… there's me…" I counted my fingers. "Kitty, Rita, Zoruru, Tororo, Ruby, and Stella." I looked down at him. "Three more to go."

"…_Oh!_" Taruru chuckled. "Me, the Lieutenant and Pururu."

"Right."

"…I'm worried about them, actually."

"Did you forget this is the _Lieutenant _and _Chief Medic _we're talking about?" Taruru looked at me, perking a brow. "You may not have actually seen Pururu fight back at that other game, but _trust me, _Johnny. She can fight for herself fairly well."

"I know, but still… that peacock…" I shivered. "He worries me."

"Yeah, he's a bit cuckoo in the head," Taruru's finger spun in a circular motion against his own head. "But it doesn't mean that Pururu can't complete her objective, right?"

"…Taruru?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Pururu will 'dump' Garuru?"

The light blue space frog shrugged. "Probably. I wouldn't be surprised anyway."

"…I hope this stupid game doesn't affect their relationship. It would probably be awkward if, um… like the rest of us, Garuru is really 'falling in love' with Pururu."

"And the other way around," Taruru said, waving his hand. "Don't forget that _she _is just as quickly 'falling in love' with _him._" He laughed. "Kururu, that old rascal."

"Last time he said he wanted the Lieutenant and Pururu to kiss because he wanted to… err, I think 'traumatize' Giroro?"

"His younger brother is horrified of the thought of Pururu and Garuru getting together," Taruru responded. "Mind that Pururu was Giroro's childhood friend, and the thought of the Lieutenant apparently getting together with _anyone _is kind of creepy. So with those two points in mind…"

"…Ha. I get it."

* * *

For the next several hours I helped Taruru boost up his relationship with La'Fawnda, being short of a unicorn and all. He managed to get to 'love' before we heard bullets ring in the air.

_Garuru._

Taruru and I exchanged a wary look, knowing for a fact that the other was thinking the same exact thing.

We darted toward the scene of the crime.

Near the entrance of the park, where we had just been at almost a 'week' ago, stood Garuru and the peacock.

"It wouldn't be a good idea to _kill _me, Toad," Caesar snarled.

Garuru frowned, clenching his weapon. "…Well. You attacked me first. I was merely returning the favor."

Rita and Kitty showed up behind me.

"What's going on?" Rita asked.

"The two guys are duking it out for Pururu's affection," Taruru said, giving them the Sparknotes edition.

Kitty's eyes sparkled. "I need to write this down-"

A pained grunt was heard belonging to the dark purple Keronian. Our eyes returned to the scene.

Garuru was clutching his arm, the peacock standing smugly off to the side with a patch of his navy uniform in his mouth. I winced. That must've actually hurt.

Caesar spat out the particle of clothing and ducked his head close to the ground. "_Let's dance._" He released a shrill noise and ran to Garuru, who easily dodged and shot out another ring of bullets, barely nicking the bird. The peacock laughed.

"Is that _really _the best you got, Toad?"

"What are you doing?!" Tororo, who had gotten here, cried out from behind Kitty. "_Kill him Lieutenant!"_

"He can't," Caesar said, his eye glittering with victory and pride. "And he knows why."

Garuru growled, a hairline crack visibly appearing under his tight grasp of the weapon.

"I, however, am held under absolutely _no bounds to kill him_!_" _Caesar took a moment to scrape his talons against Garuru's face.

We winced, the Lieutenant holding his hand up to his cheek. He let out a quiet grunt.

"What are you going to do?" Caesar asked him, circling him. From time to time he would cock his head menacingly toward Garuru, and the latter would twitch defensively. The peacock would only grin, and the Keronian would bare his fangs. This bird was playing with him. "Just what-are-you-going-to-do~? Stay there and fidget like a little kid waiting to be beaten, swinging that shiny gun like you're swatting away the flies or run away like the nauseating coward you are?"

Garuru's eyes dilated. "_Oh that IS IT!_" A whole array of firearms appeared around his shoulders, the guns glistening in the dull sunlight. The peacock's smile vanished instantly, but rather than looking frightened, his eyes dilated, glimmering seriously toward the Lieutenant.

It was simple: Garuru snapped. But just as simply, I knew Caesar was honestly _not _going to back off without a fight.

Bullets soared threw the air, stinging past the colorful bird as it dodged them with great fluidity. Due to the design of his weapons, there were times when it was clear that he couldn't get a good enough shot when Caesar was near him enough, and hence the peacock would deliver another blow to the face or the torso. Garuru would stumble back but regain his footing, materializing a short-range pistol and aiming it toward the bird.

Cannons, now, were beginning to fire, booming, reverberating through the blue skies. Stella and Ruby at this point finally entered the scene with the rest of us, Zoruru and Pururu nowhere in sight.

"They're going to kill each other," Ruby murmured in disbelief.

"_Ku-ku-ku!_ That's strange." We all gazed at the monitor where Kururu's face appeared, his forehead crinkled and darkened with dubiousness. "…This isn't supposed to happen at all."

"It isn't-?"  
_  
"G'Ack!_" Garuru was thrust onto the ground, the peacock's talons tight around the Lieutenant's throat, his body sitting down on his body.

"No, it isn't," Kururu glanced at the Lieutenant and immediately began to type against his keyboard. "What is going on?"

A flash of metal recaptured everyone's attention.

The peacock let out a squall as Zoruru's organic fist came into contact with the bird's face. Caesar slid across the dirt, weakly hopping to his feet and ruffling his feathers of the dust, sending puffs of dirty clouds everywhere.

"What's wrong?"

I looked down to Pururu, whose eyes widened at the three males in the zoo-area-turned- battlefield. She paled.

"_I'm doing this all for you, lovely!_" Caesar screamed.

"Yeah, yeah, _whatever,_" Zoruru hissed, lunging to the peacock. The fowl merely ducked down and clawed against his attacker's chest. The cyborg clutched onto his fleshly side, the ripped jacket dangling loosely against him.

Garuru released another peal of bullets, and again, Caesar dodged them.

"I found it," we heard Kururu mutter. "Ku-ku~ I press."

Electricity surged around Caesar, and the peacock screamed in agony. His shape began to twitch into a slightly more familiar, more disturbingly nostalgic form than the simple colorful bird Pururu had to woo just days prior.

We gaped in shock. Tororo squeaked, clutching onto Kitty's leg and burying his face fearfully against it.

"That's right…" the wolf rose his head from the ground, evident beads of sweat budding on the fur on his face. "_…Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?_"

"Kurtz," I whispered.

"You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, eh?" the wolf cackled. He spat out what I suspected to be blood.

I stared at Kururu's screen in disgust. "_What is this, Kururu?"_

Startled slightly by my sharp burst of anger, Kururu turned to me. His fingers hovered above his keyboard uncertainly.

"…I don't know."

"I should have known," Garuru said with an ironic, sarcastic chuckle. "I knew you couldn't have disappeared so easily…"

"Life sucks, don't it?" the wolf- Kurtz, I inferred- shrugged. "You are a worthy opponent. It's not everyday I find someone who beats me, mm?"

"He wasn't meant to come back," Kururu said dryly, his attention returning to the screen on his computer.

"Well, whatever the case," A giant needle-like weapon appeared on Pururu's hands. "…We need to help them."

"Agreed," Taruru nodded.

"_This is our battle and our battle alone!_" Kurtz snapped. He turned to Garuru, who resumed another offensive position. "Unless you want to fight like a dirty coward, Lieutenant Garuru, I suggest you call your men off."

"Ignore him, Lieutenant," Pururu cried out. "Let us help you."

Garuru's hands balled into fists. "…No. I have to admit he's right."

"That's so weird," I said, shaking my head in debelief as Kurtz made a run for the Lieutenant. "...He's... he's the peacock...?"

"Don't forget what I said," Kururu said, his device hovering above us, "If what Garuru said is correct about the wolf simply disappearing during battle... don't forget what I said about data. Data doesn't just _disappear. _It either wanders around or sticks onto something else's data-"

"So, like Garuru?" I cringed as Kurtz delivered a powerful blow against Garuru's jaw. The purple Keronian stopped for a moment to rub his mouth.

"...Somewhat similar, but not completely. Whereas Garuru's data couldn't be completely taken over as he was an actual player, the peacock, an nonplayable character, was, yes, admittedly, a very jealous territorial character in this game, but the wolf's data corrupting it and literally taking it over and _becoming _the character made it much more aggressive-"

"-He's a glitch." I gazed down to Tororo, who was still hiding. He repeated, softly, "…He's a glitch. Depending on what kind of glitch, the Lieutenant might not even be able to beat him."

"How were we supposed to defeat him?" Stella asked Kururu.

"Ku! It was simple. You were just supposed to knock the numbers down-"

Garuru struck his gun against Kurtz's face, the wolf howling in pain as he back flipped out of the way. He rubbed his face with his paw, snorting in irritation.

"I don't see any numbers," I said plaintively.

"Then we're going to have to come up with a more creative method, ku." He shook his head and muttered, "This is impossible."

"…Glitches… maybe we could find a cheat…?" Tororo murmured. He winced when the wolf fell about five feet away from him.

"A cheat?"

"….Yeah. Some games make you do weird stuff in order to activate something." Tororo squeezed his eyes shut and Kitty kneeled down to comfort him. He simply pushed her away, not too fond of being treated like a baby. He refused to acknowledge the wolf and turned to face me. "The wolf could possibly be no different."

Taruru had disappeared somewhere, I noticed. I didn't think it was really necessary to point it out, so instead I meditated on the words Gatsby told me.

The image of the fox appeared in my mind, smiling guilefully as he rose up his fingers to show me, "_Grisly beard. Kurtz. My little riddle_."

"What force and strength cannot get through, I with a gentle touch can do. And many in the street would stand, were I not a friend at hand…" I murmured.

Rita wrinkled her nose, watching me curiously. "…A key?"

I stared at her. "…What did you say?"

"A key." Her eyes went down to her hands. "What force and strength cannot get through- a chest, a safe- I with a gentle touch can do- when you just slip in the key into a lock, it opens it up. Many in the street would stand, were I not a friend at hand- keys open doors." She shrugged. "I heard it before somewhere."

"Key…" I rose my head. "I'll be back."

* * *

"Of all times where is that flipping white-haired pretty boy?" I muttered, stopping to look around desperately.

"If you mean 'white-haired pretty boy', I hope you're talking about someone other than me."

I tripped over my feet and stumbled on the ground, Saburo gazing amusedly down at me.

"Uh, hi to you too."

"I need your key."

Saburo blinked at me. "Huh? You… need my key?"

"_I need your key, Saburo_."

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," Saburo frowned. "Why do you need it so badly?"

"I just do, okay?"

Something exploded in the distance. The boy stared warily off in that direction. "…Did it have anything to do with-"

"_Yes._"

Saburo shrugged and pulled it off of his neck, dangling the key in my face. "Here."

I snatched it from his hand. "Thanks."

* * *

"I'm back," I panted, holding up the small silver object above my head. "_I got it!_"

"What's that?" Taruru blinked at me. "A _key?_ What's that for?"

"I… I don't know…" I said, gulping down the air. I coughed. "I don't know what it's for. I just… I have a feeling it's important…"

"…Where did you get that?"

I looked up at Kururu. "…Saburo…"

Kururu looked insanely annoyed. "I never designed him to have a key-"

"Everything's going wrong, isn't it?" Tororo said with a weak chuckle, squeaking again behind Kitty.

Kururu was far too frustrated to retort back. In fact, he looked cool despite everything, nothing more than a small vein pop on his cheek as he simply turned back to his computer.

"…The key…" Kururu shook his head and leaned against his chair. "…It's what'll help you defeat that wolf."

"_How?_"

"…I'm not sure. You'll have to figure it out on your own."

The key boomeranged and smacked the wolf on the side of the face.

It turned to me. _"HEY!_"

"I guess that's not what the key was for."

"_Johnny!_"

Garuru picked it up curiously, and when he did so, it glowed and stretched, turning into… a sword.

Just like the one at the fairytale simulation.

"…Oh. I see now." Kururu examined the fight. "…In order to defeat a creature from a simulation, you need-"

"-a weapon from the same simulation," Tororo interrupted.

"_Ku-ku-ku-ku! _Mission complete for First Class Private Taruru~"

That explains where he was. I have to say it was pretty good initiative, though-

Kurtz howled, stepping back when the weapon sliced against his torso. Now the numbers began to spill out.

_50, 45, 40..._

Garuru received a similarly powerful blow from the wolf as it lunged it claws toward him. It hurt- it was evident through his pained facial expression- but from the smirk on his face, I could tell that he knew as much as me or Tororo or Kururu in the fact that since he wasn't in the fairytale simulation, _he couldn't lose a life. _

As if this had given him a new burst of energy, Garuru swung his sword masterfully against the wolf, jabbing it and stabbing it in places that would have absolutely mortally wounded you had it happened in real life. The Lieutenant's eyes were dancing with the rush of the battle, Kurtz's smug look beginning to diminish with each number that flew out.

_15, 10, 5..._

"That's enough," Kurtz snarled, holding out his paw. Garuru perked a brow, giving him a _you-think-that-will-really-stop-me-from-finishing- you _look before he started, his sword in front of him.

Kurtz shook his head. "This isn't the last of me. I _will _return. And when I do, you're going down, Lieutenant."

"It doesn't seem like it will be today, though, does it?" Garuru tilted his blade, the metal sparkling slightly as it rose. "…Shame."

The sword pierced through the belly, and Kurtz gave him a sinister, evil grin as his body began to pixelate and disintegrate into the sky.

"_I will be back_…"

His voice thinned out as his form vanished completely, Garuru falling to his knees after that final excursion. Pururu was the first one there, pushing past all of us to look at him.

"Lieutenant… are you okay?" Pururu murmured.

"…I'm fine…" His eyes were unreadable as he looked down at the ground. "…I… suppose I just lost our chances of completing this game…"

Pururu bent down and kissed his cheek, and he jumped slightly, turning to her. He blinked.

"I'll have your hat if you're willing to give it to me."

Garuru stared at her blankly. She simply giggled and pulled the little uniform-esque hat off his head to put it on her own.

"_Ku-ku-ku-ku! _Mission complete for Chief Nurse Pururu~"

"_Ku-ku-ku-ku! _Mission complete for Lieutenant Garuru~"

"Congratulations," Kururu said with a smirk, leaning his cheek against his hand. "You won the game. How do you feel?"

So many mixed reactions.

Kururu simply shrugged. "Ku. Some of you are no fun. Clicky."

We were consumed by a bright light.

* * *

Ten small boxes were splayed around us. Tororo busied himself with picking them up, tossing a rock on Taruru's head to get him to help him out.

"That sucks," Kitty said suddenly. "We had one more day left…"

"It was the peacock's- err, Kurtz's fault, Kitty," I said, trying to comfort her.

"…Kurtz?"

"U-uh, the wolf."

Ruby wrinkled her nose slightly. "…Speaking of which, Johnny… how did you know about the key…?"

"…That's a good question." I reached for my head. "But I'm exhausted and slightly freaked out about everything, and I want to go to sleep. How about I explain it all at a better time?"

The girls agreed as they stared up at the sky. It had taken on a dark color, sun having beginning to set about half an hour ago.

"We should go anyway," Rita agreed. "C'mon, guys. Let's go home."

"It's been fun," Stella said, waving slightly. Zoruru was silent as he followed her, glancing over to Garuru and Pururu for a moment before shaking his head and rolling his eyes to the sky.

The light purple frog chewed on her bottom lip. "…So, Lieutenant-"

"I apologize for that," Garuru said, looking away. "I apologize for everything. That simulation… hopefully we won't have to do anything so uncomfortable again. So I would… I would be grateful if you were to forgive any actions that-"

"It's fine," Pururu interrupted, blushing slightly when she realized she did so. She bowed politely. "It's fine Lieutenant! Um… you know what they say," She smiled at him. "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, right?"

"…Right." Garuru nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate it-"

"Say no more." Her face turned even redder. "U-uh, I apologize, Lieutenant."

The two stood there awkwardly, Garuru bending his arm back to rub his shoulder, and Pururu squeezing her hands.

"…Good night," the two said quickly, Pururu returning to her partner and Garuru returning to me.

Garuru glanced up at me. "…Not a word, Cadet."

"I won't. I promise."

"...Thank you."

* * *

***Dies***

**But in all seriousness, I really hope you enjoyed... and I'm sorry if it feels rushed. Ugh. **


	32. Dark

**DAY TWENTY-EIGHT, WORD TWENTY-EIGHT: DARK**

* * *

I woke up laughing.

No, seriously.

I think I even startled Garuru, because he was facing me in a defensive position, staring at me.

"I'm sorry."

Garuru rolled his eyes and sighed. "I should have known."

"No, really, it's just…" I tried to stiffen another chuckle, but being so early in the morning I couldn't keep it in. "I mean, _Lieutenant! _A _unicorn! _What was wrong with me? I should probably be embarrassed but that's funny!"

"I suppose it is," Garuru said with a shrug.

"And besides," I told him, laying backside to look up at the whirling ceiling fan. "If I find it amusing, than you can't hold it against me."

"…True." Garuru gazed up at the fan in annoyance. "…Is there any way to make it cooler here?"

"Why? I think it's fine."

"It's hot."

"Welcome to Arizona."

Garuru shot me an irritated glance, and I grinned weakly.

"Sorry."

He rolled his eyes.

I rolled to my belly and hugged my pillow. "It actually has been getting hot, huh? …Well, _hotter."_ I was silent, contemplating on this fact. "….Hey, Lieutenant? Can you toss me my cell phone?"

"Of course."

It smacked my face. I glared at him. He merely gazed back nonchalantly, and then shrugged.

"I said I would come up with something creative."

I rolled my eyes and turned it on, going to my contacts.

Garuru perked a brow quizzically as he observed my thumbs working on the screen. "What are you doing?"

"Text messaging the girls."

The dark purple Keronian frowned. "…Whatever for?"

"We're going swimming today."

* * *

Ruby was here first, wearing lighter clothes, surprising me a little. Her typical thick gray jacket and baggy pants really made her seem a little bigger; with all that gone, she actually really _was _tiny. She put down a small cooler by her feet and gazed at me. "What?"

"O-oh." I didn't realize I was staring. I blushed and looked away. "I'm sorry."

She tilted her head, confused. "What for-?"

"HI~!" Taruru said, jumping out of nowhere and landing on my face.

"…Please get off of my head."

"We're not late, are we?" Rita asked, a holding on to a long Styrofoam tube. Her sister trailed behind her, the long trench coat over her shorts and shirt.

"No you're not…" I gave Kitty an odd look. "You're not hot in that?"

"No."

Huh. "Okay."

"I'm hot…" Tororo said, clinging on to Kitty's leg.

"Welcome to Arizona."

Garuru shook his head, and the girls blinked at me.

"…Sorry. It's. Um. J-just ignore me."

I then remembered Taruru was still currently on my head, and I reached up and put him on the ground.

"Is everyone here?" the light blue frog asked.

"No. We're still missing Stella."

I looked at my phone. "She should be here soon, though."

"Where is it?" Ruby asked.

"It's several miles away."

Rita stared at me uncertainly. "And we're going to walk there?"

I gestured to the big black truck behind me. "I'm driving."

The three girls stared at me, and then took notice of the enormous truck.

"…_You're driving in that?_"

"Uh… yeah?" I perked an eyebrow. "We like big cars." I turned it on and opened the door, stepping in. "I'm going to turn on the AC so it's not so hot when we get in."

"Good idea."

"Can we ride in the back?" Ruby asked me, hopping onto the tires to look inside.

"No," I laughed weakly. "I'm not that confident in my driving skills yet. We have enough room for everyone inside. Though…" I looked down at the frogs. "Some of you may have to sit on the girls' laps."

"Fine by me," Tororo shrugged.

"I'm cool with it," Taruru puckered out his lips.

"I'd rather take my chances in the back of the truck."

"Ignore him," Stella said, walking into the group, holding a picnic basket.

"Oh. Hi!" I waved. "Ready to go?"

"Sure." Stella stared at the big truck, opened her mouth, and pointed.

"Yeah." I grinned. "Hop in."

"I'm in the front!" Taruru claimed, running to that particular spot. Stella beat him to it, though. He sulked and went over to Rita, who sat in the backseat anyway.

The truck held six seats; three in the front, and three in the back. Since the Keronians were small enough, Garuru and Zoruru sat in the front between me and Stella, surprisingly able to fit in one seat. The girls buckled up as I adjusted everything- bringing the steering wheel down, pulling the seat up and closer to the petals, bringing the mirrors down…

Stella watched me carefully and grinned. "You're so small, Johnny!"

I blushed heavily. "Sh-shush."

"_Let's go!_" Taruru shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

* * *

I remembered why I don't drive very much.

"_PEDESTRIAN!_"

I swerved the car slightly, startled. We all cringed as several other vehicles honked at me.

Eight irritated voices reverberated in the truck. "_TARURU!_"

"Sorry," Taruru giggled, sitting back down on Rita's lap. "I couldn't resist."

Garuru turned around and delivered a warning glare to the Private, while Pururu sighed and shook her head, face-palming.

I took a deep breath and loosened my hold on the steering wheel, calming myself down.

"We're going to die, aren't we?" Tororo asked dryly.

"Yes," Rita said, nodding.

Tororo stared at her in horror.

"….But not today."

Zoruru and Garuru rolled their eyes.

"Just relax, Johnny," Stella told me soothingly.

I gave her a quick, shaky smile and returned my attention to the road. I stopped at a red light and sighed, running my hands against my hair.

This was going to be a _long _drive.

* * *

"ME FIRST ME FIRST!"

_Splash!_

Rita and Stella, who were at the edge of the pool by the time Taruru hopped in, were not amused. They dripped, the water droplets rolling off of their faces and slipping off their hair.

Ruby giggled and put her small cooler under the shade.

"Wow." I looked around. "I'm surprised there aren't many people out."

A few kids were hanging off to the side somewhere, a guy flirting with a girl, a few lifeguards checking out their phones was glancing occasionally out into the water. Even then, I concluded that the aliens were smart enough to turn on their… invisible-thingies. Although we could still see them.

…How the heck does that work anyway?

I took a deep breath and dropped my bag next to everyone else's belongings, crouching down to take out a floatie that I had bought from the dollar store a week ago when I bought Garuru that rubber ducky.

"You guys are kids," Zoruru sneered, folding his arms. It seemed he was more than content to just be soaked in water than be surrounded by it.

Then again, he's like half-robot, isn't he?

Taruru popped his head out of the water and grinned. "You don't wanna come in? The water's _great!_"

Zoruru scoffed and walked under the shade beside me, completely ignoring him. I was inflating something, my cheeks puffing out and pink as I blew into the plastic device.

Kitty was giggling, doing the same with her own tube, which looked like a big plastic doughnut.

Tororo was sitting by her impatiently, fanning himself.

Rita was already floating in the water with her plastic stick, kicking her legs behind her, trying to keep up with Taruru.

"C'mon, Pururu…"

"Aha… I think it might be too cold, don't you think…?"

Ruby shook her head. "The water's just right. Look." She gently splashed some water against Pururu. "See?"

She looked uncomfortable still, deciding to be content with sitting at the end with her feet barely touching the water.

Garuru just sat next to me and Zoruru, the two Keronians exchanging some words of recognition as they watched the platoon and the girls enjoy themselves.

Kitty had finished the doughnut-like tube and had put Tororo inside it, who happily flapped in the water as he floated on it. She sat in the shallow end, enjoying herself.

"Here, Lieutenant."

Zoruru took one look at what I was holding and quickly looked away, clearing his throat as he had brought a hand to his mouth.

Garuru was not amused. _At all._ "_…Cadet_."

I put the rubber ducky tube down in front of him. "Are you sure? I mean, it looks like something you would enj-"

Garuru materialized a gun, and didn't dissipate it until I had gotten to my knees and bowed while apologizing profusely for my stupid actions.

"Johnny?"

I looked up from my shameful position. Ruby stood over me, holding my rubber-ducky tube.

"Mind if I use this?"

"N-no. Go ahead."

Ruby smiled. "Thanks." She sat down next to Pururu and tossed the floating device in the water in front of her, holding it with her foot, saying something softly to the female Keronian.

A few minutes later, Pururu was on it, floating quietly in the pool.

"Are you guys sure you don't want to go swim?" I asked.

"You're not swimming," Zoruru said flatly.

"True." I stood up and stretched. "I'm going in."

I slipped into the pool with a small splash and immersed myself completely in water. I swim funny, I'll admit it; I learned when I was in summer school, and my friends… well, let's just say they weren't the best of teachers. The only way I could swim is by doing it underwater. I can surprisingly hold my breath for a long time down there, only gasping for breath when I pop my head out of the water.

Worst of all, I can't see. Ugh. Chlorine in the eyes… can't take it.

So. You shouldn't be surprised when I say that when I bobbed myself out for a moment to look for Stella, I missed by a foot and rammed my head into the wall.

"_Johnny….!_"

The voice sounded muddled, with my ears filled with water and all. I reached for the concrete and pulled myself out, coughing and spewing out pool water.

Stella, who was sitting on the edge, looked at me worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"_I'm fine._"

"Good." Stella relaxed again, before glancing at the two Keronians in the shade. "…Are they seriously just going to sit there the whole time?"

"Probably." I sunk my nose down into the water, which was beginning to grow warm and comfortable.

Stella shook her head and stood up. "I'm going to see if I could change their minds."

"Not going to happen," I said with a chuckle. I dunked myself completely under again and swam toward Kitty. I guess I surprised her, because she jumped slightly when I pushed myself back up to the surface.

"How're you enjoying yourself so far?" I asked, walking to the shallow end.

…Too bad it took a while for me to actually _walk _on the shallow end.

…._Don't laugh. _

"I'm having fun," Kitty said, leaning her back against the wall. "At least, you know, watching Tororo."

I turned to see the little tadpole angrily shout at the blue Keronian, who had spun his tube around in a wild circle. Taruru easily evaded Tororo by diving back under the water, unreachable.

It honestly seemed like he was the only one really swimming.

"Taruru!"

I saw Pururu completely drenched, her hat soaked and dripping, her face exasperated. Taruru laughed.

"C'mon! Have some fun!" He splashed her again, much gentler this time, and he laughed exuberantly when she playfully splashed him back. Ruby was giggling as she watched on, getting splashed and splashing during the whole ordeal.

Stella walked back over to me and sat at the edge again, a little gloomy. "He didn't want to come in."

"Figures," I shrugged, crossing my arms over the rim of the pool, resting my chin against them. "They don't seem like the type to just, like, come in for a swim."

Stella said nothing to this, her eyes suddenly twinkling in …_ooh. _

Ha. I pity Zoruru.

We watched in silence as Rita used Taruru as a floaty-toy, the Keronian dragging her smoothly against the waters.

Stella giggled.

A little while after that, she left me and I swam over to Ruby, who was chatting peaceably with Pururu while she floated on in that rubber-ducky of hers.

"Yo!"

Ruby perked a brow at me and smiled, tilting her head slightly. "Hey, Elric!"

"Johnny."

"Elric."

I decided to ignore that for now. "Hey, Pururu."

"Hi," Pururu said sweetly. "How are you?"

"I'm good. And you?"

"Lovely." Pururu gave me a small, charming grin.

She was so cute! Are all female Keronians like this? If that was the case, I wanted one. I looked at Ruby. "Can I trade with you?"

Ruby blinked at me in bewilderment. "What?"

"It'll be like a Pokemon trade; my Garuru for your Pururu."

Pururu brought a hand to her mouth, trying to control the giggles that escaped from her mouth. Ruby only stared at me.

I laughed. "I'm kidding."

Ruby's features softened, relieved. "Okay. Good. Because I wouldn't do that."

"Yeah, I wouldn't be too surprised." I glanced at Garuru, who had grabbed a bottle water and had doused himself with it. I cried out, "Lieutenant! If you're hot, just jump in here!"

Garuru ignored me.

I rolled my eyes good-humouredly and ducked back under the water. I pushed myself off the wall and swam blindly to the other side, this time being smart enough to hold my arms out to touch the wall instead of using my face to let me know I was there. When I emerged, I heard this desperate plea for help, and splashing- lots of it.

I looked over my shoulder and paled, heart racing.

Taruru was wildly flinging his arms everywhere, gasping for air, screaming for someone to come and rescue him. We just stared, horrified.

I felt bad for the lifeguards, too, because apparently they could hear it but couldn't exactly see it.

Huh. That's actually kind of funny. An invisible body floating and splashing in the water-

_No time for jokes, Johnny._

Zoruru rolled his eye and promptly stood up, leaving his spot beside Garuru to walk up to the drowning Keronian. Stella was sitting there, watching nonchalantly. The cyborg seemed as if he couldn't blame her as he stood at the edge, his hands at his waist.

"Oh stop it, Taruru," Zoruru said, irritated. "We all know you could frogging _breathe under the water, _and _I _specifically know that this is just a little ploy to get me in the pool." He straightened and folded his arms triumphantly. "Well let me tell you: it's _not _going to-" Stella pushed him with her foot, and he splashed in the pool.

Taruru stopped panicking and burst out laughing. "You were saying?"

Even Tororo let out a laugh from this. "He got you there, Scraps!"

The two young platoon members stopped immediately when Zoruru emerged, his eye glowing.

"…_SWIM AWAY SWIM AWAY!_" Taruru screamed, flapping his arms in a desperate attempt to swim faster.

"_I WILL DESTROY YOU YOU INFERIOR BEING!" _

For the next ten minutes the rest of us, though relieved that Taruru was okay, stared amusedly as the cybernetic ninja speedily swam after Taruru in the water, some of us having to move out of the way

I was a little surprised he didn't go after Stella; after all, it was she who had thrown him in in the first place.

…Maybe because it was easier to pick on Taruru.

Poor guy.

I guess it was at this point Garuru finally decided to stop being a deadbeat because he walked casually over to the edge of the pool and sat down, his feet touching the water.

Wait a minute.

…They don't even _have _feet.

Whoa.

Revelation.

"It's rude to stare, Cadet."

I grinned and swam over to him. "Sorry."

I guess Pururu and Garuru still felt awkward about the game the day before, because Pururu quietly floated away when he sat down. He didn't say anything on the matter.

Garuru leaned against his arms, smirking slightly as Taruru sped by him, Zoruru not far behind.

"He's persistent, isn't he?"

Garuru shrugged. "I suppose."

Maybe it's not idea to pick on somebody who was so bent on revenge for someone else; those bottled up feelings were bound to go somewhere in the meanwhile, right?

Garuru and I flinched as Taruru went past us again, splashing water unintentionally. Zoruru's form was at this point a blur now, sending a whole mist at us.

The purple Keronian glanced at me when I chuckled. "It feels good, doesn't it, Lieutenant?"

"…I suppose."

Zoruru finally gave up at this point and swam to the other side of the pool, pulling himself out, his body dripping with water. He irritably grabbed at the torn cloth that hung from his hat to the side and squeezed it.

"I thought he was a robot?" I asked suddenly.

"Keronian technology," Garuru said in mild explanation, "along with Meronian technology makes it makes it possible for the metal and the gears waterproof." He waved his hand dismissively. "Tororo could happily explicate further if you ask him."

I imagined sitting through a long, intense technical informational conversation and shuddered. "I'm good, thanks." I pulled myself out of the water and sat next to the Lieutenant, letting the sun warm and dry the wetness off my skin.

Garuru closed his eyes and relaxed.

…Come to think of it, this is probably the first time I've ever seen him like this. His body was usually erect and stiff, as if he proudly allowed the heavy weight of the world lean against his shoulders. But now, he was tranquil, and comfortable, letting the world roll off of himself for but a little while.

I think I like this Garuru better.

…Well. I guess it wasn't going to stay like that for long, anyway.

It was amazing how I managed to keep a silent, straight face as I saw Taruru move near the Lieutenant, creeping absolutely noiselessly behind him, his arms outstretched, ready to-

"_Don't even think about it._"

Taruru frowned, folding his arms. "How'd you know it was me?"

"I know everything."

I laughed a little. "I wouldn't do it, Taruru."

Taruru quietly considered this, and then looked up in almost defeat.

Almost.

"You know, Lieutenant, there's this Pekoponian phrase…"

Garuru gave him a side glance. "Oh really."

"Yeah. You ever heard of the word 'Yolo'?"

"…I have, actua-"

"YOLO!" Taruru thrust his arms forward and shoved Garuru into the pool.

The Lieutenant disappeared in a splash.

I swear my eyes dilated, and my face turned pale. I gathered up my legs and stared at the water.

Taruru looked at me smugly.

My mouth wouldn't close.

Did he just… _did he just freaking push Garuru into the pool?!_

…He did.

I… that… I… honestly couldn't process that normally in my mind….

It seemed Pururu, Tororo, and Zoruru were having similar thoughts, because they were also absolutely frozen with shock; Pururu with her eyes wide, Tororo still in the water, and Zoruru in a motionless position, his hands still wrung on his hat.

The girls were silent, as if they weren't sure whether to laugh at the unfortunate outcome or to be very, _very_ afraid.

…It seemed they were more bent near the latter, because their faces didn't even twitch with the slightest indication of a grin or a smirk.

We waited to see what Garuru's reaction was.

We waited for two minutes straight.

By this time, everyone was thinking the same thing, looking at each other with anxious expressions.

Where'd he go?

I stood up and leaned a little, peeking down at the water. The circles that spread and dispersed in the pool gradually thinned out, and the water was still again.

Taruru's face eased of that complacent look, and he looked down in confusion. "…Huh?"

"He's gone," I said, incredulous. "He just… he's _gone._"

Taruru bit his lower lip and gazed at me worriedly.

"…Can… can you guys drown…?" I asked quietly, gulping.

"I… I don't know, actually." The light blue Keronian looked at me worriedly and then bent down and peered closely in the water. "L-… Lieuten-?"

In a split second, Garuru popped out of the water, wrapped his arms around Taruru's neck, and dragged him under.

I gasped and nearly fell in the water, waving my arms madly before managing to balance myself and trip on my feet behind me.

"…Did anyone else hear the music from 'Jaws'?" Rita asked suddenly, snapping everyone back to reality. "…Because I just did."

"I think saw Taruru's life flash before my eyes," Tororo said solemnly.

A heavy splash startled us and brought our attention back to the water, where a sputtering, scared-to-death Private reemerged from the pool, his arms flapping wildly to the border. He hastily crawled out and ran behind me, his cold body against my back, shivering.

Garuru slowly came back after him and quietly took his place right next to me, sitting down. He then proceeded to calmly wring the flaps of his hat of the water, totally nonchalant of the retreating fearful Keronian in back of us.

Taruru sat under the shade for a few minutes, hugging his knees and rocking himself back and forth while telling himself to never, _ever _do that again.

….It would be lying to say we couldn't blame him.

* * *

"C'mon everyone! Picnic time!" Stella waved an arm in the air and bid us toward her.

Yes, this pool let us bring food, as long as it wasn't actually in the water where we ate it. Ten wet bodies made their way back under the shade, where Stella was taking out paper plates and food and drinks.

"I'm surprised you had all this stuff on such short notice," I said gratefully. "Thank you."

"No problem!" Stella smiled. She handed me a plate, which I handed down to Ruby.

"You have some leaves stuck on your hat," Pururu said, laughing gently.

Zoruru irritably patted his head. "_Really?_"

"Yes. It must be from the pool," Pururu leaned against him, fondling his cap as she picked out the unwanted bits of vegetation. She smiled victoriously and planted her hands on her hips. "Done." She then frowned as she examined his face. "…Oh dear. You forgot to apply sunscreen, didn't you?"

Zoruru looked away and huffed. "_I'm fine._"

"You're still going to need to put lotion on that."

He replied by mumbling something unrecognizable under his breath.

"I brought a beach ball," Ruby said out of the blue as she bit into a tostada. She swallowed before she continued, "Maybe we could all play a game together."

"What kind of game?" Pururu prompted.

"I don't know! Just a fun pool game we could use a ball with," Ruby explained, demonstrating the flat plastic ball.

"I haven't eaten yet," I said. "Toss it to me; I'll inflate it."

She did so, and I caught it carefully, making sure it didn't land on my platter of food.

I pulled the end to my mouth and blew into the plastic ball, making it thicken with air.

Garuru watched me.

When I plugged the beach ball and tossed it to the side, and gave him a look. "Yes?"

"Nothing. It's just amusing to watch you."

"Your face got all red," Kitty acknowledged, grinning.

"…I-is it really?"

"Aw, now your face turned even redder!" Stella giggled.

I decided it would be best to just turn away and eat my food in peace.

Tororo was eating on top of his doughnut tube.

He must really like sitting on top of that even though he wasn't in the water.

Kinda cute, actually.

"Let's play Marco Polo."

I turned to Kitty, who was chewing on her lunch thoughtfully.

"But what about the ball?" I asked.

"We can still toss it around in the water," she said. "I think playing Marco Polo would be fun, though."

"…What's 'Marco Polo'? Taruru inquired, interested.

"I'm not playing it," Zoruru announced, folding his arms. "I've spent too much time in the water."

Garuru didn't answer, instead shooting a glance to Taruru, who shuddered.

"Doesn't mean we can't play," Ruby said. She gazed at the light blue Keronian and explained, "Marco Polo is basically a mixture of tag and… I guess you can say hide and go seek. One person either closes their eyes or is blindfolded, and they try to catch the other players in the water. 'It' shouts out 'Marco!', and the other players have to respond with, 'Polo!'. That's how 'It' finds them."

"Are you allowed out of the pool?" Tororo asked lazily, probably not even too intent on playing the game anyway.

"Yeah, you are actually," Ruby said with a small nod. "But if 'It' shouts, 'Fish Out of Water!' when someone gets out, than the person who got out is 'It'."

"Hm," Tororo replied flatly. "Okay."

"You aren't even going to play the game, are you-"

"No, not really."

Kitty rolled her eyes good-heartedly and smiled.

"You need the exercise, you know," Pururu said, her voice slightly exasperated.

"I'm in good health!"

"Sure you are, Tubs," Zoruru said, leaning over to gently poke the tadpole's belly.

Tororo squeaked and sat up, indignant. "It's _baby fat,_" he protested.

"_Sure it is._"

* * *

Tororo ended up playing anyway, to prove to everyone that he was in _perfect _shape.

But he wouldn't leave his floaty; oh no. He loved that thing too much.

"It's going to stall you," Taruru warned him cheerily.

"Pu-pu! I'll be fine!"

Taruru shrugged. "Whatever you say."

Kitty found a little strip of cloth to wrap around Taruru's eyes. He wanted to be first.

"You aren't going to play, Lieutenant?" I asked Garuru.

The purple Keronian shook his head. "Honestly, I believe it will be more entertaining to watch."

I sat comfortably next to him. "I think I'll sit here too."

Garuru gazed at me quizzically.

"…I got water in my ears, and it hurts," I confessed. This stupid problem always happens; really, I should've learned from the first time and just bought earplugs or something. "I'm actually going to lie down now, against my towel, okay?"

Garuru shrugged. "All right."

Marco Polo began.

Taruru floated in the middle, a wide silly grin on his face as he moved from side to side.

"_Marco!_"

Six voices rang out, "_Polo!_"

Taruru lunged toward Ruby, who squealed and shot past him. He felt her, going after her.

She hopped out of the pool and hastily walked around, bouncing back into it once she was far enough away.

Taruru floated aimlessly for a moment. "Dangit. I forgot those words…"

Tororo was unable to suppress a snicker. "I'm not surprised."

"_Marco_!"

"_Polo!_"

Taruru splashed toward Kitty.

Kitty ducked in the water, just so that Taruru swam over her and past her. He floated there, confused for a moment.

"_Marco!_"

"_Polo!_"

"Gotcha!" Taruru hugged Rita, who had to grab on to the edge of the pool to keep herself from drowning from her laughter.

"You got me," Rita said, grinning. She pulled herself out of the water and tugged the cloth off of Taruru, then putting it around her own eyes. She carefully hopped back in the pool and cleared her throat. "_Marco!_"

Taruru was already a good distance away when everyone else shouted, "_Polo!_"

Rita swam toward Pururu, who quickly disappeared in the water, leaving her floaty barren. The human girl poked her hand around the ducky tube, realized Pururu was gone, and promptly pushed it away, clinging on to the rim of the pool.

"_Marco!_"

"_Polo!_"

Ruby was the victim again. This time, when she jumped out of the pool again, she wasn't as lucky.

"_Fish out of water!_"

The girl giggled. "Okay, okay. I'm It."

Rita pulled the cloth off herself and handed it to Ruby.

The game started over again.

"_Marco!_"

"_Po-_"

Ruby touched Tororo.

"_No fair!_" the tadpole protested. "I wasn't ready!"

"You were just floating there the whole time," Taruru noted, smirking.

Tororo stuck out his bottom lip, Kitty giggling off to the side at his cuteness. He only glowered at her, making her laugh a little harder.

That's the last I remember; I fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up with part of the towel covering my face.

Stella was gently shaking my shoulder. "Johnny. C'mon, we're leaving now."

I rubbed my eyes. "Geez. Was I really out of it?"

Stella grinned. "Yeah, you were."

I rolled my eyes. Curse my stupid inclination to have a nap in the middle of the day… A stupid habit that started this year that I can't break…

"Did you guys get to use the beach ball?" I asked.

"Yeah, we did," Stella said with a nod. "Just for a little while, though, then everyone got bored and had ice cream. Oh. Speaking of which, do you want some?"

"I'm fine," I told her honestly. "Let's just get everything to the truck, and I'll drive everyone home."

Tororo had also fallen asleep, it seemed, but unlike me, didn't wake up. Poor little guy. I only assumed that he had worn himself out playing Marco Polo.

"Can you hold him for me, Johnny?" Kitty asked softly. "I'm going to go change; afterward I'll come take him from you."

"Sure."

Looking at his face, I had to wonder how old he was. Really, thinking about it, he was only kid, right?

Kitty came back shortly, and turned around, ordering me to put him behind her. Comfortable, he had his head against Kitty's back, his arms around her neck, the girl carefully carrying him while trying not to look too inconspicuous when we passed the guy at the front. I changed quickly and met up with the others at the truck, all of us piling in.

"Who put the towel on my face?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder before I started the truck.

I could feel everyone look at each other.

"…I was merely trying to prevent you from having a sunburn," Garuru said crisply.

I blinked down at him in surprise. I then returned my attention to the mirrors at the side of the truck, backing out of the parking space.

"…Thanks."

"Please. Don't mention it."

* * *

Back at home, I flopped on my bed and sighed heavily into my pillows, my muscles beginning to feel sore.

"You sleep a lot."

"I don't know why," I mused.

"You might be growing."

"Haha." My voice sounded muffled as I buried my face against the sheets.

Garuru gazed at me thoughtfully. "…Are you going to-?"

"I'm thinking, Lieutenant."

The purple Keronian waited.

"There's this online game called 'RuneScape'," I began, peeking out from my pillow. "It was a game I played with my friends in middle school. It was basically this medieval game where you could be a hero. You could slay monsters, make trades, make friends, do quests… it was a lot of fun. And honestly, I think I looked pretty cool. I had a pretty decent amount of money saved up, while I wasn't the highest level out there, I was okay. And, the most important part, I had fun. Lots of fun. But you could die in that stupid game."

"You sound bitter," Garuru noted.

"I am. Oh, so very am." I clenched my fists. "I swear, if Kururu makes a game like RuneScape I will just… _urgh._"

"You sound very bitter."

"_I am_," I cleared my throat. "…Anyway. Moving on. Well, in RuneScape, there's this land that only the most experienced players can go… I can't remember what it's called at the moment. But in the game, anywhere else, you can't kill each other- however, in this part… oh! Wilderness, I think it's called; in the Wilderness, players can fight each other and kill each other. I was told by my more experienced friends not to go in there. Well, sometimes you go to places and find yourself just wandering at the border of the Wilderness. I was there, doing some sort of quest, when this other player stopped me. You can scroll your mouse over the character and see what level they are, and the higher levels are usually in red. This player was just high, I can't remember how much, though. Anyway, he asked for a favor, if I would follow him into the Wilderness for something. I wasn't sure, but he promised me he would protect me if we saw any sort of beast. So I thought, 'okay, I'll go for it'."

"…And?" Garuru perked a brow.

"_THE CAKE WAS A LIE!"_

My outburst made him jump a little.

"Sorry. Just thinking about that _jerk,_" I growled.

"…May I ask what happened?"

"_Sure. _He took me far, _far _away from the border into the Wilderness, and then stopped me again. He told me, 'attack me'. I didn't understand at first. 'Why?' 'Just trust me. You'll get this cool skull over your head and' blah blah blah. I did so, though uncertainly. When he told me to stop, I stopped. And there it was, the skull floating over my head. I thought that was the neatest thing… until he started attacking me back. I tried to run away from him, but I was too far to escape. He ended up killing me. His last words? 'N00b'." I positively glowed with anger. "_THAT JERK! _It turns out that anyone who dies with that skull over their head loses _everything _in their inventory."

"…And…?"

"I never played that game again," I muttered, irritable.

"…That's… interesting, I suppose…"

"The cake was a lie, Lieutenant," I said seriously. "The cake. All of it. Was. _A lie._"

"…I… don't think I understand-"

"Your turn," I said cheerfully, mood-swinging.

He only shook his head at me, as if he was sure that he knew he would never completely understand the mental state of Johnny Cadet.

And he was right. For the most part, anyway.

* * *

"Did you see them, Lieutenant?"

Garuru blinked at Pururu, who was smiling at the pretty bugs that danced in the air.

"Yes, I do."

They looked like our butterflies, but their wings were feathered instead, the bottoms of their thin bodies a different color then the rest of it.

Reodines, he thought they were called.

"They are interesting to look at," Garuru said slowly, "But we must keep our minds focused on the mission."

Pururu frowned slightly, blushed, and nodded solemnly. "Y-yes sir."

"Thank you."

They were protecting a small, nearby Keronian village that had recently been "discovered"- apparently these were their distant ancestors, a tribe that wasn't fully 'civilized' yet.

Truthfully, Garuru didn't like the way HQ worded it; he believed they were just as, if not more, cultured as the cities in Keron.

Sure, they looked a little different, but they kept similar rules, had loving families, stayed serious in their jobs. They were also decently intelligent too, having learned a colorful variety of languages, including their own native language.

The village welcomed the Garuru Platoon with open arms, offering a warm meal and a place to stay.

While they accepted the meal to be courteous of these villagers, they humbly said no to the small hut. They were quite comfortable in their own ship, and they didn't want to be a burden to these people.

The villagers understood completely.

Going back to the thought of the mission, recently Headquarters heard of a sudden, quite brutal attack of the nearby outskirts of the land their ancestors resided upon. Leffimugs, were what they were called; big, strong dog-like infested animals that traveled in packs and killed anything that moved, either by clamping their powerful jaws against the victim's neck, or by the diseases that spread like a wildfire.

Already some villages were reduced to piles of rubble because of these dirty, mangy monsters. Headquarters was worried for the wellbeing of these Keronians.

They sent the Garuru Platoon to watch over the village and try to scare the animals off for as long as they can until they could actually send some more reinforcements to take the villagers to a safer place.

Tororo shivered slightly, afraid. "Any sign of them, Lieutenant?"

"Not yet," Garuru said, pulling out his binoculars.

Taruru watched the Reodines with Pururu.

Garuru looked up at the sky and frowned.

One of the negative things he read about that particular planet was that the nights were considered the cruelest time of the day. Everything around them would go pitch black, enveloping them in darkness.

Garuru commanded Taruru to make a fire, and quickly- their 'sun' was going down at a rate that was comparatively faster than Keron's or Pekopon's.

Taruru nodded and did what he was told, though struggling to fulfill the order hastily.

One of the villagers walked toward them and gently patted Garuru's shoulder. The purple Keronian turned around, unfazed.

"You are welcome to come sleep with us," the older Keronian said softly. "We don't mind."

Again, they gently rejected the offer. The Keronian nodded.

"I see. Well, then. We're still very full of gratitude for what you're doing for us, we feel as if we aren't doing enough for you."

"You don't have to feel that way," Garuru assured him. "We are simply doing our job."

"You are the leader, correct?"

Garuru nodded.

The older Keronian gestured toward himself. "Give me your hand, please."

The purple Keronian curiously did so, opening his palm. A pretty beaded accessory was placed in his hand, glittering in the faint light. "…What is this?"

"It's a necklace."

"…Thank you, but it's… feminine, in our culture-"

The Keronian chuckled. "It's feminine in our culture too. It's for your lovely lady companion."

"…Who?"

The Keronian blinked at him incredulously. "…She isn't a female-?"

"Oh. Chief Medic." Garuru coughed, refusing to convey the slight embarrassment he felt. "Would you like me to give it to her?"

"Yes, I would. This is just one of the many gifts we plan on giving you-"

"You are held under no obligation to-"

"We understand. But we still will, because that's what grateful people do." He patted Garuru's hand gently. "We'll be back in the morning to serve you breakfast." He left before Garuru could say anything on the matter.

Pururu sat near the fire, writing something down in what appeared to be a journal.

Ah, a journal- that's right. They were given these to report their findings and their experiences to Headquarters.

Garuru started writing one for a while as part of his homework, but when he learned that it wasn't to be graded, and it was questionable whether or not they were actually _reading _them, he stopped. Frankly, he found himself drawing on it more than writing-

("_You draw?"_ "I have a degree in studio art, yes, though it was never really a career I was too dedicated in following." "…You draw." "Yes, I do." "Okay…. Wow…Can you show me-?" "I believe I'm telling a story, now, Cadet." "Sorry." … "You drew rubber duckies, didn't you-" "_That joke is getting old, Cadet._" "Sorry. Sorrysorrysorry. Go on.")

Garuru slipped the beaded necklace around Pururu's neck. She jumped, startled.

"The villager's leader wanted me to give this to you," Garuru explained. "I didn't want to bother you, so I put it on for you." He examined her thoughtfully. "It looks lovely."

Pururu's face burned heavily. "Th… thank you."

"…Chief Medic?"

"Y-yes, Lieutenant…?"

"…Your… report is catching on fire-"

"_What?!_"

She hit the notebook against the ground, the tiny flame at the edge dying before it ate too much of the paper. She gazed at it wearily. It would now have a burnt mark at the corner for a few pages, whether she liked it or not.

"I'm bored," Tororo whined. Apparently living in fear stopped being scary when there was no internet connection.

"We can play a game…" Taruru suggested.

Zoruru rolled his eye. "Yes. And what could we do, rookie?"

"Good question."

Pururu fingered the necklace absentmindedly.

"They villagers said they were going to offer more gifts similar to that," Garuru told her, settling on a seat beside her.

"R-really?"

"Yes."

"…I'm flattered."

Garuru tilted his head slightly. "Are you continuing with your report?"

"…Hm? Oh. Oh! Yes, yes I am." She nodded and returned to her notebook, scribbling madly on it. He stood back up and…

Oh.

"…Lance Corporal?"

"Yes?"

Garuru's lips twitched. He cleared his throat and looked away. "There is… something on your face."

"What?"

"I don't believe we have a mirror, but… I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the…" Garuru moved his fingers toward his own face, as if trying to explain it, but he couldn't. "…There is something written on your face."

"_What?_"

"It's the truth, Lance Corporal."

"W-… what does it say?"

"Oh!" Pururu giggled, looking at Zoruru's face.

"What does it say?!"

"It reads…" Pururu tried to stifle a laugh, but failed. "'Bulls-eye, and there are rings around your eye. And then someone drew… someone drew whiskers on your face… a-and a mustache." She was unable to hold it back. She laughed, clutching onto her belly.

"_WHO DID IT?!_" Zoruru snarled.

Taruru and Tororo grinned at the corner, looking innocent. "Not us~"

Zoruru's angry look calmed, and he gave them something of an eerie smile as he walked up to them.

The younger teammates' smiles disappeared. They gave each other a side glance, suddenly fearful.

"Give it to me."

"…What-?"

"The marker. _Give me the marker."_

Tororo frowned. Clearly this wasn't something that they were expecting. Taruru handed him the utensil, to which Zoruru popped open, and pointed to the ground. "Sit_._"

The two blinked at each other.

"_Sit._"

They sat down.

"Good." Zoruru then proceeded to lean down and draw all over their faces, the frogs having no choice but to submit to this humiliating torture. The cyborg wasn't gentle, either. He pretty much scraped it against their skin, making them wince and complain.

"_Stop whining_."

They did so.

Taruru now resembled a pirate, eye-patch, mustache and all, and Tororo had the face of a panda bear, circles around the eyes filled in, his mouth painted black, with the word 'TUBS' on his forehead.

The two Keronians turned to each other, and then scrambled to Pururu's first aid kit to retrieve her small compact mirror. They gaped at themselves.

"My beautiful face!" Tororo cried out, touching his cheek.

"Wow, I look awesome," Taruru grinned. "Not bad, Zoruru."

Zoruru scowled, popping the lid back on the marker. "_Don't do it again_."

"Now I'm going to have to clean you…" Pururu said with a small sigh, though that entertained smile remained on her lips.

Zoruru had taken the mirror from the younger boys as Pururu took out an alcohol-drenched napkin to wipe their faces. Tororo was first since Taruru wanted to look like a pirate for a little while longer.

The cybernetic ninja touched his cheek. "How the heck did you even manage to _do _this?" he muttered.

"You were asleep for a few minutes," Taruru explained, grabbing a long thin stick from off the ground and pretending it was a sword as he slashed it about. "And Tororo and I were bored. So we took advantage of the opportunity." When Tororo was clean, Taruru waved his stick to Zoruru. "I can wait."

Zoruru jumped slightly upon realizing that the nurse was standing before him.

"Can you sit down please?" Pururu requested.

He consented, embarrassedly turning away. She gently pulled his face toward her and began to remove the pen with the softest of care.

Garuru was hit with the stick. "_Private!_"

"Oops. Sorry, Lieutenant."

Taruru hopped back toward the fire and picked up his stick. "Does anyone have a headband I could use?"

"I'm going to take that stuff off of you now," Pururu told him sternly, turning away only briefly to make eye contact with him.

Taruru pouted slightly. "Alright-"

Growls echoed around them.

The platoon grew quiet, almost in hopes that what they heard was their imagination.

It wasn't.

As the bushes shuffled around them, the team of Keronians snapped into action- mentally and physically.

Garuru materialized a weapon. Pururu materialized her needle. Zoruru stood up and prepared his arm, while Taruru regained a serious composure as he bent down in an offensive position. Tororo looked a little out of place.

"Get between us, New Recruit."

Tororo was only happy to do so.

"They _had _to come at us in the dark," Pururu murmured, holding on to her weapon tightly.

"This is going to be messy," Taruru said quietly.

* * *

I waited.

"...To be continued."

"I hate you, Lieutenant."


	33. Light

**DAY TWENTY-NINE, WORD TWENTY NINE: LIGHT**

* * *

"What do you feel like eating for breakfast, Lieutenant?"

Garuru gazed at the refrigerator in interest.

Ee-yup. Still contemplating deeply at that.

"You don't have to be quiet, either," I said helpfully. "My parents are at work, and my sibs are at their friends' house. So we're free!"

"Lonely," Garuru said, perking a brow at me.

"Hey…. I'm trying to be optimistic!"

Garuru shook his head and reached for the bag of bread, giving it to me.

"Toast again?"

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"Uh… probably not?" I opened it up and placed two slices in the toaster. "Want some coffee?"

"Yes, please."

I poured him a warm cup. "Have you even gotten high off of coffee?"

"I'm normally very careful with the amount of caffiene," Garuru said smoothly. "I don't recall ever having a sugar rush when I was younger, either." He accepted it, and I gave him the milk and sugar to let him prepare his coffee. "Why, have you?"  
I blushed. "U-um…"

"…You have."

"…It doesn't happen often." Garuru perked a brow, and I laughed nervously. "I shake, and I run all over the place. I also giggle and burst out laughing and I'm unable to stop. My teacher likes watching me on coffee; he says it makes him feel good." I was quiet for a moment. "I get really 'happy'."

"That's… an amusing thought."

"Stella is trying to get me off of it," I said, pointing at my cup.

"And why is that?"

"Apparently it isn't good for me. But I like it too much."

_Clunk!  
_  
"Your toast's ready." I put them on a platter. "What do you want with it?"

"Butter, please."

It clacked as I set it in front of him, and I left to the fridge to get him what he wanted.

_Ding-dong._

I blinked, and then gazed at the clock on my oven. "…What?" So early. Ten in the morning, maybe? I cast a curious look to the Lieutenant.

He simply shrugged and smeared the butter over the thin slices of bread. It rang again.

"I'm going to go see who's outside."

I ran out of the kitchen and into the living room, peeking out the window once I got to the door. I couldn't see anything. Huh.

I opened the door and looked about. Still nothing. I was about to close the door when I heard a voice below me: "I am down here."

When I turned my attention to the ground, I jumped back slightly.

Only slightly, because quite honestly, I should've already been used to it.

It was a light blue frog with large, kind of distant gray eyes. He wore a large cape that wrapped around his throat and fell down to his ankles. And he was holding a bucket full of colorfully patterned socks and shoelaces.

…

No, seriously.

"I recognize this is where the Garuru Platoon is residing?"  
"Uh… N-no… just, um… Lieutenant Garuru."

"Ah. May I come in then to speak with him, please?"

"…Come over here to the kitchen, please."

"Thank you."

* * *

"Warrant Officer Bariri." Garuru jumped off his chair and saluted. "What brings you the honor of coming here to Pekopon?"

Bariri returned the greeting. "I only wish to see Chief Medic Pururu."

"…Um… who is he?" I asked, jerking my finger down to the frog.

Garuru gave me a side glare, and it was clear what his message was. I shut up immediately.

"Um… so Pururu?" I smiled meekly at the Keronian.

"Yes," Bariri nodded.

"…I, um… know where she is…"

"Would you mind showing me where?"

"It is early, Warrant Officer," Garuru said, folding his arms. "I'm afraid that we will have to wait several hours before we can go."

"Ah, I see," Bariri said disappointedly. "That's a shame."

"Do you have any prearrangements that would prevent you from being here?" Garuru inquired respectfully.

"No, I am on vacation."

Garuru perked a brow.

"I've been long waiting to see her again," Bariri said. And then his whole face sparkled as a blush crept passed his cheeks. "Every prolonged second for me is more like a… prolonged year. Just like the fresh socks from a Menualimim-cow."

I blinked at Garuru questioningly, but to my surprise, he had the similar quizzical look.

"…Uh," I said, breaking the confused silence as I pointed at what Bariri was carrying, "…What's that for?"

"Oh!" Bariri put down the bucket and eagerly arranged the items orderly on the floor to show us. "I was told from my doctor to express my feelings through socks and shoelaces."

Garuru and I shared a glance.

"…What kind of doctor do you-"

"After taking care of myself," Bariri had continued, "And taking care of myself well, might I add, I decided to take off where I had left off with Pururu. I am courting her," he added for our benefit.

"…Ah," Garuru said, his face lighting up with realization.

"I don't understand why you are so surprised, Lieutenant," Bariri said. "I have come by with gifts before."

"But I didn't see the point of it until you explained yourself now."

"Oh! I apologize," Bariri chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't know you were so in the dark about this."

As I watched them talk, I couldn't help but notice how… I'm so sorry for being rude, but… how _dull _he sounded. Honestly. Garuru, at least, had _some _vague trace of emotion in his voice, and truthfully, it had something, um, I guess you could say, _charming _about it, but this Bariri guy was purely monotone.

I've been told I have musical ears, and let me tell you: his voice was painful to listen to.

"Are you hungry?" I cut in, sounding almost desperate.

"Hungry? What do you have, here?"

"Um… I don't know. Tortillas?"

Bariri stared at me. "What is… Tortillas?"

"They're like… homemade, flat bread shaped in a circle…?"

He just continued to… _stare _at me.

I made a weak smile. "O-okay. Um… _Lieutenant!_"

* * *

I didn't have a chance to eat breakfast (having to settle on just a thermos of coffee), because as soon as I got a reply from Ruby telling me it was okay to come over, Bariri insisted on getting there as fast as humanly possible. Or, alienly possible; take your pick.

I sipped on the overly sweetened coffee and waited at the door, Bariri preparing himself eager with the… socks and the shoelaces.

Hm. Whatever doctor told him to express his feelings with _those _must be insane, playing a joke on the poor guy or both.

…..I had this bizarre feeling that Kururu was the little demon behind it.

Ruby opened the door, her face beaming with recognition. "Hi!"

"Hey," I said cheerily. I smiled weakly and rubbed the back of my neck with my free hand. "Sorry that I asked to come in so early…"

"It's no big, really…" her voice trailed off, and she frowned slightly. "Oh. Another-?"

"Do you mind if we step in?" Garuru asked politely.

"O-oh! Yeah, sure!" Ruby pulled the door wider and let us in, the two frogs and I walking inside. "Pururu! They're here!"

"That's nice, I…" Pururu's smile faded and her eyes grew wide with horror.

"_Pururu!_" Bariri said happily, probably the first emotion that I've seen him make all day. He walked over to her and presented his gift, to which she frozenly accepted.

"Who's that?" Ruby asked me.

"Bariri," I said. "Apparently he wants to… court Pururu…?"

Ruby's smile also eased, though not as dramatically as the light purple frog's. "…What do you mean by court?"

At this moment Bariri presented a poem that he had written in Pururu's honor, describing and comparing her to a list of woolen, cotton, and cheese-infested socks. She listened, a broken smile on her face.

"…_Oh._" Ruby gave me a look, opened her mouth to say something, but then simply shook her head.

"…What?" I asked.

"Nothing," Ruby sighed.

"Is it not the most beautiful poem?"

"Yes…" Pururu said weakly. "It is. I appreciate it…" She took a deep breath, and delivered a very sour glower to me.

I jumped back slightly, and then looked at Garuru. "Did I do something?"

"Nothing wrong that I could see."

Pururu pulled Bariri to a corner and spoke quietly to him. Ruby, Garuru and I saw his face break, and tears began streaming down his face.

They didn't argue, they just discussed something. He cried. Pururu said something to him, patting his shoulder gently. Whatever she had uttered suddenly lightened his face again, and she took a step back, that weak smile returning to her own. He suddenly clenched his fist in dignity and dedication, shouting, "_I WILL KEEP TRYING HARDER!_"

The four of us winced, not quite expecting this.

"Until you return your feelings to me, I will keep pursuing you!" Bariri said loudly, cupping her hands in his own, face glittering again.

Pururu gave me a look again.

"Now I must go!" Bariri cried out dramatically. "My vacation must come to a close. I only regret that I'm not able to spend more time with you." He saluted to her. "I hope to see you again."

"R-…right…" Pururu chuckled dryly, returning it.

He saluted to Garuru as well, who repeated the gesture. "Thank you for accepting me momentarily. But now I must be off!"  
_  
We heard. _

"Very well. We hope to see you again soon."

Bariri nodded and marched out the door, closing it softly behind him.

I just kind of stared. "Is he going to be okay…?"

"Probably not," Pururu said with a small groan. She hastily picked up the cup of water she had most likely been drinking and darted after him, calling out for his name. Garuru followed after her.

* * *

Pururu came walking in shortly, the empty glass in her hand.

"Where's-?

"The Lieutenant decided to assist Bariri."

"Are you sure he'll be okay?"

"He ran across some sprinklers that went off. I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Okay." I paused for a moment, and then prompted, "What does Bariri need Garuru's assistance for?"

"He forgot where his ship was."

My lips twitched slightly. "I see."

"So… we heard he's courting you?" Ruby asked her, sitting down next to me on the couch.

"He has been for a while now, even though I have rejected his proposals time and time again."

"Oh." I wrinkled my nose slightly. "I-I'm sorry. Had I known, I would've never…"

"It's fine," Pururu said dismissively, smiling at me sweetly.

Now I felt even worse than before. Wee.

"It's fine," Pururu repeated, giggling girlishly, trying to make light of the situation. "Really. Honestly, I believe I've endured worse."

"Like?"

"Like, I think I'd rather deal with Bariri than to deal with a Snickenorel infestation."

"Snickenorel infestation?"

Pururu nodded. "They're… I suppose you can compare them to the fleas of Pekopon. They hop from person to person. They're about… this big- really tiny. They use intense camouflage to blend into their host."

"Oh." I frowned. "But that's just like the fleas and lice here. That's nothing to be too ashamed of. I think I even had some head lice when I was little-"

"No, no," Pururu waved her hand slightly. "They require a _lot _of blood, requiring a fast and easy flow of the bloodstream. In order to get that, they, err…" She laughed.

"What?" Ruby grinned.

"They bite into their host and infect them with this poison that makes them move a lot." Pururu made herself comfortable and sat down on the floor. "I'm going to have to tell you the story."

Ruby and I listened intently.

* * *

It had started with Taruru.

Then again, it always starts with Taruru, doesn't it?

They were training, the Lieutenant occasionally barking out orders or making suggestions on how to use a move.

Taruru was scratching his arm, irritable.

"Something wrong, Private?"

"Hm?" Taruru blinked at Garuru. "Whah?"

Garuru gestured toward Taruru's itch. The light blue Keronian laughed. "Oh, it's fine! Really. I think it's just a really bad rash."

"…Are you sure you don't want the Chief Medic to look at that?"

"I'm fine!"

Pururu was nearby, hearing the whole thing. She walked toward them and folded her arms. "Look at what?"

"Nothing."

"I believe there's something wrong," Garuru said with a small frown. "Private. I would be more comfortable if you let Pururu see that-"

"Let me do a couple more target practices, okay? Look! I almost perfected my aim!"

Garuru glanced wearily off to the side where there were several black splotches anywhere _but _the target, and sighed. "Very well. _Three _more. And then you undergo inspection."

Taruru pouted. "Eight."

"Three."

"Seven?"

"Three."

"…Six?"

"_Three._"

"Fine," Taruru said, more playful than grudging in tone. His eyes glowed slightly as he prepared a beam…

When he suddenly twitched and shot it at Zoruru.

Zoruru barely managed to dodge, ducking low to the ground reflexively. He glared at the private.

Taruru stared in bewilderment.

"_Was that some sort of sick joke?!_"

"No, no! I swear, it was completely on accident!"

"_Don't do that again, rookie_."

"I-I won't."

"Pu-pu! What kind of accident was _that_?" Tororo asked skeptically, folding his arms as he perked a brow.

"I… I don't know, really!" Taruru insisted when Garuru and Pururu gave him similar incredulous looks. He stopped to scratch his elbow.

"I think it's spreading," Pururu said worriedly, gently taking his arm. "C'mon, Taruru, you're going to have to-"

Suddenly Taruru jerked away. And began swinging his arms in the air.

Pururu blinked at him.

"…Is he _dancing?_" Tororo asked.

"…He… is?" Zoruru acknowledged slowly. "He's not really good at it, but he definitely _is."_

Taruru slid to the side and shook his hips in some sort of rhythm only he could hear. The platoon watched on, perplexed.

"Private," Garuru said, stepping hastily out of his way, "This is hardly appropriate."

"_Help me!_" Taruru whimpered. "I can't control myself!" He spun and hit Zoruru on the face.

"_Hey!_" Zoruru snapped, his organic hand rubbing his forehead.

"What do you mean, you can't control yourself?" Pururu inquired.

"I _can't!_ Like, my body's moving on its own!" Taruru suddenly grabbed Tororo's hands and yanked the tadpole to his feet, spinning him around.

"S-stop! I'm getting dizzzzzzzy!"

Taruru released him suddenly, and accidentally rammed poor Tororo into the wall, and then wiggled over to the other room.

The platoon members blinked, and then suddenly grew aware of the blue Keronian's disappearance. They immediately ran after him.

Taruru was now on the table, doing some sort of jig, kicking his feet this way and that, moving faster and faster.

"Private, get off of there _now!_"

"Pururu, help me! I can't stop!"

Pururu bit her lower lip. "I-I'll go see if there's anything I could find in my medical journal." She stopped briefly. "…Zoruru, are you okay?"

Zoruru was scratching his forehead. "I'm fine." He kept rubbing it with the back of his hand. "Ugh. I just got this really bad itch here, though."

"Me too," Tororo whimpered, shaking his hands as if hoping the pinkness that had stretched against his skin would fall off.

"Don't scratch it," Pururu said, pointing at the two. She gazed at Garuru. "Make sure they don't. _B-but don't touch it._ I'll be right back."

Pururu sped up to her room and searched around for the thick white book under her bed, plopping it on her mattress and flipping through the pages. "Rashes, irregular movements…"

CRASH!

Pururu jumped and shot her head over her shoulder. It sounded like it came from the kitchen. She scooped the journal in her arms and rushed to the area where the rest of the platoon was.

Garuru was standing out of the way, his face in a state of conflict: whether to be worried, or to be amused.

Zoruru and Tororo had now joined the dancing frenzy with Taruru, shaking their hands as if they held maracas or wiggling their shoulders to some unheard music.

"W-… what's going on-?"

"We can't… stop… _dancing!_"

Pururu squeaked and hopped out of the way. She brought her book down on one of the counters and skimmed through the index. Garuru walked over to her and looked over her shoulder.

"Um, um, um…."

"Have you ever heard of this before, Chief Medic?"

"I-it sounds familiar," Pururu stuttered, telling herself to keep cool when she realized that the Lieutenant practically had his chin on her shoulder, his arms touching hers…. _Snap out of it- no time to be th-thinking about that right now. _"L-like I said, it sounds familiar, but I can't think of the name of it right now…"

Garuru quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her out of reach from Taruru's random kicking. He immediately loosened his hold. "I apologize."

"Don't." Pururu resumed a serious look and went back to her journal. "Um, let's see, let's see-"

Zoruru now had this disco thing going on. It took the purple frogs' will power not to burst out in laughter, the cyborg blushing heavily at this latest humiliation.

"Could that possibly be it?" Garuru asked, pointing it out.

"Snickenorel. Perhaps." Pururu hastily went to that particular page and read through them. "Oh. Also known as the Dancing Flea."

"Dancing Flea?" Tororo asked, beginning to look tired. He did a ballerina twirl. "What the heck is that?!"

"It's a parasite that needs a lot of blood," Pururu said, giving them a quick definition. "But in order to get an easy rush of that blood flow, it quickens the bloodstream by forcing their hosts to move using this, this sort of I think poison, yes… and their victims basically make rapid movements that resemble some sort of wild dance until the Snickenorel are too fat to drink anymore, and then they'll just fall off."

"So we have a _flea _on us?" Zoruru asked, disgusted. He flickered off into the ceiling somewhere.

"Fleas, I believe," Pururu grabbed Garuru's wrist and pulled him away from a fast approaching Tororo. "And they're very contagious. I think when Taruru grabbed the both of you he infected you with the parasite."

"Now the question remains," Zoruru flickered back, looking dizzy. "W-where did Taruru even _get _the- _Whoa!_" He spun around in an instant circle, and then immediately stopped with absolutely no control. He wasn't even given a moment to relax, because he only resumed that crazed movement. "-F-flea…?"

"What is this, the tango?!" Tororo complained, moving his hips.

"I don't know!" Taruru said, answering Zoruru's prior question. "I just… I got this _rash, _and I guess that was the fleas!"

"None of you took your recent shots for anysort of parasites," Pururu noted. She blinked blankly, and then face palmed. "O-oh dear. I'm so sorry! Let me see what that cure is… oh. A bath. I'll go prepare that, and give you guys your shot to keep them away."

The three males cringed, sharing a similar reluctant look as Pururu left. When she came back, only Garuru was there.

"They disappeared," Garuru said in explanation.

"I'm going to have to give you your shot first, Lieutenant."

"That's fine."

After getting that over with, the two went searching for the others. Fortunately, it wasn't hard; all they had to do was listen for any banging.

Apparently they were running into walls now.

"Can I touch them now?"

"Yes, you're vaccinated."

Garuru grabbed the easiest member- Tororo- and picked him up despite the fact that the little tadpole was now kicking and wiggling hysterically. "Where is the bath, Chief Medic?"

She led him to the main room, where an enormous tin bucket filled with hot water and bubbles came to view.

"Be gentle, Lieutenant…"

Splash!

Garuru tossed him in the small pool, the water rising from the extra weight and dripping onto the floor.

Pururu shook her head and picked up a sponge. "Go get the others, please. I'll handle this."

The leader saluted and immediately ran after the last two. Pururu scrubbed the young member well, making sure to scrape the flea-like parasites off of him. He shuddered as he saw the tiny insects float in the water.

"I think I'm gonna puke…" he said under his breath, turning green.

"It's over now," Pururu told him soothingly, patting his head. "C'mon." She helped him out and draped a towel around him. "I'm going to give you your shot after I'm done with the others."

Tororo nodded, shivering slightly.

She quickly dumped the water out somewhere and refilled it, squeezing some more of that anti-parasitic soap inside.

"_Lieutenant!_ Th-this is completely undignified…!"

Pururu turned around and tried to cough back a giggle. Garuru was holding Zoruru upside down, the latter still moving crazily.

"I'm sorry to say that I believe this got undignified a long time ago, Lance Corporal."

Splash!

Zoruru coughed, his head emerging from the water. Pururu took the sponge and washed the cyborg, who quieted down and turned away in complete embarrassment at the situation. He flicked the little nasty pests away from him when he saw them floating in the bath water.

"I'm going to go see if I can get the Private." Garuru disappeared.

"I'm done," Pururu said, wrapping a towel over Zoruru. "See? It wasn't so bad."

Zoruru rolled his eye and stepped out of the bucket, relieved of the infestation that had taken place on his body.

…That's actually a really creepy thought.

"I-I can dry myself, nurse," Zoruru muttered, wrapping the towel tight against himself.

Pururu blinked at him and smiled shyly. "Right, of course you can. I'm sorry, I'll stop."

He seemed rather disappointed at her response for some strange reason.

"NO NOT THAT! ANYTHING BUT THAT!"

Pururu planted her hands on her hips, frowning.

Taruru, who was clawing desperately at the floor, was being dragged by his foot in the room by Garuru. The Lieutenant caught Pururu's withering look and shrugged.

"I apologize, but it was the only way I was able to catch him and bring him in here."

"NOT A BATH!" Taruru slipped from Garuru's grasp and tried to get away. Garuru only wrapped his arms around him, trying to restrain him. With one move, he managed to somehow scoop him up and toss him into the bath tub that Pururu hastily prepared.

Taruru moaned. "I hate baths…"

"This won't take long," Pururu assured him. She rubbed the sponge against his arm, and smiled when she saw a look of calm cross his features. "Is the itch gone?"

"Yeah, it's gone."

"See? It isn't so bad."

"Yeah, you're right." Taruru agreed, stepping out. She gave him a towel, and he dried himself.

"Now for your shots," Pururu said, an eerie smile stretching against her face as she brought her enormous needle into view of the three.

…

"…We should have locked the door, Lieutenant."

"Yes, we should have."

* * *

"Were you guys able to catch them again?" Ruby asked.

"Taruru caught the parasite again, but at this point I had pretty much vaccinated everyone but him," Pururu said, drinking some tea Ruby made her during the course of her story. "We gave him another bath and gave him his shot in the end, though."

"That's good," I said with a small grin. "Did you find out where they were?"

Pururu shook her head and shrugged. "I'm assuming they came from at least _one _of the many planets we went to during that course of time. I honestly wouldn't know; we went to many places our first year."

"You aren't disclosing valuable information to the Pekoponians, are you?"

Pururu spun to face the Lieutenant, a look a great apology on her face, which immediately softened when she saw that Garuru was smirking slightly.

I could tell from his small grin that the story Pururu told me was going to be a story he had been planning on telling me; apparently he enjoyed listening to it for once instead of telling it.

"No…" Pururu said with a small giggle, unable to come up with any other response. She cleared his throat. "How was Bariri?"

|"We were able to find his ship on top of a dog house."

The three of us blinked at him.

"Please don't make me explain."

We decided not to.

"Do you guys want to stay here and watch a movie or something?" Ruby suggested, gazing at the two of us. "I mean, just so that you could enjoy your time here. I don't mind."

Truthfully, I wanted to leave because I was getting hungry, but I consented. Garuru agreed nonchalantly, folding his arms.

Ruby put on Full Metal Alchemist.

…

I wasn't amused.

"That guy looks nothing like me!" I protested.

"He's short and he has blond hair," Ruby pointed out.

"Those are the only similarities!

Garuru was looking at something of Pururu's, having gotten bored of the anime within the first few minutes- stacks of paper, it looked like. He would make a comment or two, mostly compliments at her job well done, but sometimes a bit of criticism came across, and she would immediately listen fast, sitting next to him and fixing it the way he suggested.

Wow. Honestly, just looking at those two… you wouldn't think anything awkward happened a few days ago. Then again, I think they might have talked about it yesterday during our time at the pool, when I had fallen asleep, right? Maybe. I don't know. I passed out.

My phone buzzed loudly and heavily. I hastily pulled it out and looked at the Caller ID.

"Who is it?" Ruby asked me curiously.

"Stella," I said, blinking. I stood up and left the room, answering it. "Hello?" I cringed as I heard a squeal and a sharp, '_get off of me!_'.

"Hi…" Stella said weakly.

"Hey…?" I perked a brow despite the fact she wasn't there to see it. "Uh… what's going on-?"

"Is it, um… is it a bad time to come over?"

I blinked at the time on Ruby's wall. "Uh… no. B-but I'm at Ruby's house, so…" I cleared my throat. "Do you need my help on something?"

"I do," I heard Stella yelp slightly as she said something off for a moment, "_Zoruru!_"

"Stella?" I bit my lower lip. "What's going on-?"

"Do you remember those two cute little aliens?"

I wracked my brain hard until I finally remembered who she was talking about. "Karara and Chiroro?"

"R-right- eep!_" _I heard something roll off and tumble to the ground. I cringed and held on to my phone.

"…Did they find your house-?"

"They did."

"….Do you need help?"

"I do."

"….Do you want to come over?"

"I will."

"A-alright, then…" I coughed slightly. "I'll be at home waiting, then. Let me just…"

"Okay. Thanks, Johnny." She hung up.

I hung up too and went back into the living room with the others. "Lieutenant, do you want to stay here?"

Garuru blinked up at me. "…Are we leaving?"

"Stella needs our help with something," I said with a weak chuckle. "It's Karara and Chiroro-related."

"…Oh," Pururu said quietly, uncertainly.

"She, um, I guess you can say got a crush on Zoruru on her last visit over here."

"…_Oh!_" Pururu laughed. "Okay, then. I see the problem."

"I don't need you to come with me, Lieutenant," I said, slipping my phone in my pocket. "You can stay here with Pururu if you want."

"I'll come," Garuru said as he stood up. He nodded to Pururu. "You've done a very good job, Chief Medic."

"Thank you," Pururu bowed.

"Please come and visit soon, you guys," Ruby smiled at me and took a step closer to hug me. I ducked out of the way and smiled.

"We will!" I just kind of waved and hastily ran out of the door, my face feeling hot.

* * *

"Hi Mister Johnny Cadet!" Chiroro said cheerily.

"Hey, guys…"

"Hi!" Karara was hugging Zoruru's arm, who looked positively tormented.

"When exactly did they come over?" I asked Stella, who looked exhausted.

"Last night," Stella reached for her head and sat down on a chair. "They were a lot of fun to take care of first, but after a while-…"

"Yeah I get you," I said with a friendly pat on her shoulder. I turned to the two. "Are you guys hungry?"

"We had cookies at Stella's place!" Chiroro noted.

"…_Ah…_ Sugar rush."

"Yep," Stella gave me a small smile.

"You know they're only going to drop dead soon."

From the look on her face I could tell that she had been hoping for them to drop dead _hours _ago. Maybe Keronian kids just have more energy than human kids?

Zoruru shifted his feet. "Can you please let go of me?"

"B-but, but…" Karara looked up at him, eyes growing large and glittery, and she looked like she was short of a few tears away from bursting out crying.

"F-fine, fine_! But only for a few more minutes._"

She squealed and tightened her grip. "You're so kind and wonderful!"

Zoruru muted a groan.

"Where is your ship this time?" Garuru inquired, folding his arms.

Karara didn't answer him. "I'm not telling, you womanizer."

Zoruru snickered when Garuru frowned.

Chiroro knew a little better than to make a similar response. "We parked it on top of a dog house."

Garuru looked up at the ceiling.

"We were a little afraid that the monster might attack us, but it didn't," Chiroro told me assuredly.

"What monster?" I questioned.

The twin sister shook her head. "I can't remember. Karara can't either."

"…How can you two not remember a _monster?_"

"Good question." Karara shrugged and gently squeezed Zoruru's arm.

"Time's up." Zoruru moved swiftly and away, hiding behind Stella.

"But Zoruru…!" Karara pouted, protesting.

Chiroro gently pulled on my pants leg, and I gazed down.

"Where's Tororo?"

I blinked at her. "Tororo?"

"Yeah." She gave me a wide grin.

"O-oh… um…" I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Would you like to speak to him?" Garuru inquired. "I have a device that will allow you to."

"C-can I use it, please?" Chiroro asked hopefully.

Garuru nodded. "Let me find it."

"So what exactly happened?" I asked Stella.

"They came through my window trying to be assassins," Stella said with a small giggle. "Though they were very, um… I guess you can say conspicuous-?"

"_They were wearing neon yellow and green camouflage_," Zoruru said, slightly exasperated. "You _can't _be an assassin if you are in plain sight! You won't be able to kill anyone!"

"Well, I _only _wanted to train my… wait…" Karara gaped at him. "…You've… _actually _killed people…?"

Zoruru apparently saw this as an opportunity to lose her. He faced her, his eye growing serious. "Yes. Yes I have… in the most brutal, most… creative, and unimaginable ways possible."

Karara's mouth opened. "Th-that's… _THAT'S THE COOLEST THING I EVER HEARD!_"

A drop of sweat rolled down his cheek. "_Excuse me?_"

"I've never met anyone who's killed anyone before!" Karara cried out, bringing both of her hands together. Sparkles surrounded her face as she looked on in admiration. "That only means you'll protect me if any baddie comes and tries to hurt me!"

"_It does?_"

"Yes, yes it does!" Karara nodded. She ran after him to hug him again, but he quickly disappeared and landed beside me.

"And I _love _men who try and play hard to get," Karara cooed.

Zoruru visibly shuddered.

"Here," Garuru said, coming down and handing the young girl his device.

Chiroro held it up to her ear, like a cell phone.

"You don't have to do that," Garuru said, gently placing it on her hand. "Here."

The girl nodded and listened intently. There was a quiet _click, _and the voice of a tired tadpole came on the line, "Yes, Lieutenant?"  
Chiroro held in a giggle. "It's me, Chiroro."

There was silence on the other end.

"Toro-?"

There was a _thump_ from the other line, and from the small grin that Chiroro had I could safely conclude he had dropped his own device in surprise.

Another familiar voice came on.

"_Who's that, Tororo? Garuru-?"_

"N-… NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, TARURU!

" We heard him scamper off somewhere, more than likely a more secluded area. He answered to us, or rather, to Chiroro again. "L-Lieutenant, if this is like that practical joke you pulled in the sector seven mistletoe incident, I'm never going to forgive you!"

Here are those words again, but this time I didn't even bother questioning what the heck it was.

Garuru's lips twitched slightly.

" It's not, it's only me," Chiroro said with a sweet laugh.

Tororo's voice softened. "W-what… th-then what are you doing with the Lieutenant's device?"

"I asked for it," Chiroro replied, sitting down on the couch.

Upon distraction, Karara used this time to masterfully grab onto Zoruru's arm again. He rolled his eye to the ceiling.

"S-so you're at Johnny's house right now?"

"Yeah, I am."

"O-oh." Quiet. "…Why?"

"Karara issues."

"_Oh, _I see." As if that answered anything.

I glanced at the other twin to see if she was offended by that remark, but she gazing too lovingly at Zoruru to notice. I guess she was attempting psychochonesis, or whatever the heck that thing was called, to try and get him to love her back.

….It wasn't working.

Tororo cleared his throat. "So… um… what did you want to talk about?"

"Anything!" Chiroro responded airily. "I actually wanted to see you, but you know how it goes."

"Y-you can visit anytime… I-I'm sure the others won't mind…"

Chiroro shook her head even though she knew he could see it. "No, no! You're too busy! I don't want to bother you!"

Geez. Those twins, as alike as they were in regards to being hyper, were actually kind of opposites. Whereas Karara didn't seem to mind coming out of nowhere and just glomping on the suitor she was going after, her sister seemed a little more considerate given their situation.

Garuru had perked a brow and muttered to himself, "Busy with _what?_"

"W-w-well… *_ahem_* th-thanks, I think."

"…You were a little behind on our last chess game, though."

"W-w?! _Y-YOU WERE DISTRACTING ME!_"

"Sure," Chiroro giggled. She then got quiet. "B-but, um… I still hadn't gotten your reply."

"Reply…? …._Oh._"

"….Tororo?"

"P-pu, y-yeah, well…"

There was silence for a moment. Stella and I exchanged a look.

"It's not that hard, Tororo," Chiroro said, her voice edging slightly to being a bit hurt, "It's a yes or no answer." It seemed that whatever she was looking for was a relaxed, casual answer that was easy to say, not some sort of awkward, delayed response that took a while to convey.

"…So what did you do this time?"

Chiroro blinked, a _did-he-just-really-change-the-freaking-subject-on- me? _look crossing her features. "_What?_"  
_  
Thump! _The device had fallen again. I could imagine Tororo shakily picking it up while pushing up his glasses, nervous for some odd reason. "I-I mean, to the plan. What was your plan this time, with Karara?"

Chiroro closed her eyes and shook her head, but she replied in the cheeriest way possible, "We pretty much dressed up like assassins and tried copying Zoruru and stuff. No big deal."

"Pu-pu-pu! Did she manage to lay a big one on Scraps?"

"Not yet," Chiroro said with a small laugh.

Zoruru didn't seem too pleased in the prospect that Tororo found it amusing.

Or Garuru, or Stella for that matter, who were both grinning at his predicament.

Tororo's voice came back, "She's going to get hurt."

"I know; I've been telling her that too."

"No, but seriously," Tororo chuckled nervously, "As careful as Zoruru is, she could get really, _really _hurt." He was quiet for a moment before he timidly cleared his throat. He said, softly and uncharacteristically kindly, "I-I mean, she's… she's _your _sister, and I don't want anything to bad to happen to either of you-"

"_He's worried about me!_" Karara cried out, releasing Zoruru from her grasp, her eyes glittering.

"_GA'ACK!_" _THUMP! _There was another uneasy shuffle as we heard him bend down to pick up the device yet again. "W…why do I hear Karara…?!"

Zoruru took this as a queue to step back, relieved beyond relief she had let him go… probably in more ways than one.

"I was listening to everything!" Karara said, the sparkles coming back around her. The air around her suddenly turned pink, and hearts began popping around her. "_Absolutely everything! _I didn't know you loved me so much, Tororo!"

"_W-w-what?!_" Chiroro and Tororo both stammered at the same time.

"Your voice so gentle as it expressed an earnest concern for my safety," Karara swooned a little and sighed, her hand at her chest. For a moment, it seemed like she might faint, and Garuru twitched his arms toward her, ready to catch her if she did.

She didn't. Apparently it was all for dramatic effect.

"_I-I DON'T LOVE YOU!_" "H-he doesn't love you!" It was seriously creepy how in tune Tororo and Chiroro were with each other at that moment.

"B-b-but what about Zoruru?" Chiroro tried, biting her lower lip.

"He's too dangerous," Karara concluded with a simple nod. "It's just like Tororo said! He could hurt me!"

From the corner of my eye I could see Zoruru relax immensely, relieved.

"Oh." Chiroro said plainly. She seemed to remember something, and she shrugged. "Um. Okay."

"_W-WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'OKAY'?!_"

"Do you want to talk to him?"

"You're ignoring me," Tororo said, flabbergasted. "W-why are you ignoring me?!"

"I'm only returning the favor," Chiroro replied somewhat chillingly, a false smile gracing her lips. "Here you go, Karara."

Tororo hung up as soon as the device landed on Karara's fingers. She tried calling him back, but he didn't pick up.

"Oh well!" Karara pouted slightly. "No matter. It only gives me the excuse to go home and train again! I will try harder!"

This time it was Garuru who exchanged a knowing glance at me.

Two phrases like that from two different people in one day. Seriously, what were the odds?

"Thanks for taking care of us, Ms. Stella!" Karara said. "I appreciate it! And the drawings you made for us!"

Stella only beamed. "I was only happy to! Come again anytime!"

"Shall I escort you to your ship?" Garuru said slowly.

"No, you're a womanizer! You might try to win me back but it won't work! My heart forever belongs to Tororo!"

Chiroro only gave her a broken smile at this, a sweat drop rolling down the side of her face.

Garuru rolled his eyes slightly. "What if Zoruru comes along with me?"

"Okay, that'll work," Karara said with an agreeable nod. She whispered to Zoruru, whose arms drooped slightly at Garuru's suggestion, "Make sure you keep an eye on him. He tends to cheat on other girls."

Garuru face-palmed, and Stella had to cover her mouth to keep herself from bursting out laughing.

"That… actually made me feel a little better," Zoruru said with a slight snicker. He stopped when Garuru glanced at him, the cyborg embarrassedly saying "_sorry_" under his breath.

"We will be back shortly," Garuru said, leading the girls out the door with Zoruru.

I walked over to my countertop and poured myself more coffee.

"That isn't good for you," Stella told me slowly.

"Yeah it is."

"…Uh… do you want to grow taller or not?"

"That 'coffee stunts your growth' thing is an urban legend. It's not real." I got another cup. "Want some?"

"No thanks."

I shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat." I took out a spoon and spooned the coffee into my mouth.

Stella watched me for a moment before she gave me a smile. "I think Zoruru likes Pururu."

I hacked on my coffee, turning away to cough into my fist.

"Well that's one way to make you stop drinking that," Stella said with a grin.

"W-… what do you mean you think Zoruru likes Pururu?"

"You haven't noticed it?"

Oh boy. First it was Ruby, and now it's Stella. I sighed. "Noticed what?"

Stella blinked at me. "…Wow. Seriously?"

"Seriously what?"

"…Um…" She laughed nervously. "Never mind. But seriously; I think Zoruru likes Pururu, if that isn't too weird."  
_  
It was. _But I decided not to say anything as I drank my mug of coffee. "I think it's just you. I don't… I can't see that happening."

Stella shrugged to me. "Okay, then."

* * *

Stella left when Garuru (and only Garuru) came back, telling her Zoruru left for her house because he didn't feel like coming back and forth.

I think her inner troll was beginning to affect Zoruru.

"Well, it's early in the morning, Lieutenant," I said coolly.

"It's… afternoon, Cadet."

"Aha… true." I glanced at the clock, remembered I was hungry, and then went to the fridge to scavenge for leftovers. "What do you want to do meanwhile? Like I said, we're pretty much free the entire day."

"I don't know."

"…Oh! I have an idea!" I closed the fridge, ran off to the corner, and brought back a small, heavy log.

Garuru blinked at it. "…Cadet…?"

"It's a box," I revealed, opening the top. "Tada! Look!" Thin black blocks were stacked neatly inside it.

"…Dominoes?"

"And, we can use this with two people," I smiled widely. "Had I known you liked dominoes, I would have suggested earlier, Lieutenant."

"…How did you know I-?"

"Who's hungry?"

* * *

I ordered pizza, since my fridge was about as empty as a playground at one o'clock in the middle of an Arizonian summer.

….*shudders* I know how that feels. _Man _my middle school was cruel.

We were on our second game, Garuru having won the last one. The pizza hadn't come by yet, much to my annoyance, because the only thing that I actually "ate" was the coffee. And by this time I had already drunk two cups and was absolutely sick of it.

"…Do you want to share stories now?"  
Garuru gave me a shrug. "I suppose."

"Coolio. Um, okay…" I placed a domino down. "It's amazing how stupid I am."

Garuru said nothing to this, and I rolled my eyes with a small grin.

"Okay. Um… once, I was really good friends with a girl. And I liked her; she was really pretty. Blond hair, blue eyes, a little nerdy and she had bit of a trashy mouth, but I was close to her. Another friend of mine- he was, um… he was interesting- introduced me to her. We were quite the trio. Eventually, though, he moved to Mexico, and I found myself spending a lot of time with her. She had a crush on my friend, because apparently she really liked 'emo guys'. Apparently he considered himself emo, and she found that attractive. Well, he wasn't interested in her." I put down another domino after Garuru went. "After a long time, kids began to think that my friend and I were a couple; the girl, I mean. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, because we hung out all the time. I was sure she didn't like me, though… like I said before, she was interested in emo guys and… well, I'm me. One day while we were texting, she asked me if I wanted to go to the movies with her. I was still in middle school, I think sixth or seventh grade, and I wasn't really used to just hanging out. So I asked her, 'with my parents?' and she quickly told me never mind. Then, probably a few hours after that, she sent me a message. It was weird." I showed Garuru with a napkin that was near by and a pen. "243I1352 9L932I9234K92E 8Y08O028U. Or something like that.

"It stared at that thing for an hour, just trying to decode it. I have a thing for riddles, she knew that, and this was just the one of the weirdest ones I've ever seen. After a while, I gave up, but she kept encouraging me to figure it out by giving me hints. 'Just look between the numbers', she told me. And then I solved it.

"I had called her. And she answered. 'I'm not emo,' I told her. She was quiet. '…That's not what I put down.'. '…I know. It says, 'I like you'. How can you like me? I'm not an emo.' And we were just quiet for the longest time. And then it suddenly hit me. 'Were you trying to ask me out earlier, weren't you?' She was kind of like, '_Yeah.'_ Man it was the most awkward thing in my life."

"…And what happened?" Garuru asked me, slowly.

"We drifted apart," I replied, feeling my face turn a little red. "…Really. Um, I guess that was kind of my fault, because while I was really friendly with her, I found another guy friend to hang out with, and she some girlfriends. She was at my old school, before I got… bullied." I played with my bangs. "My guy friend who moved to Mexico? He moved back. Emailed the girl occasionally, too."

"And they are the ones that are together?"

"You're so romantic," I said with a grin, and he gave me an irritated glance. I laughed. "Sorry. No. I had gotten a new phone, and she was trying to get him to give her my number. So he had teased, 'what, do you like him'?" I paused, and then looked off, suddenly remembering what the response was. I really am an idiot. "Your turn, Lieutenant."

He blinked at me. "…You aren't going to continue?"

"Blah. You wouldn't be interested in it." I rested my cheek against my hand. "Your turn, Lieutenant."

* * *

As the bushes shuffled around them, the team of Keronians snapped into action- mentally and physically.

Garuru materialized a weapon. Pururu materialized her needle. Zoruru stood up and prepared his arm, while Taruru regained a serious composure as he bent down in an offensive position. Tororo looked a little out of place.

"Get between us, New Recruit."

Tororo was only happy to do so.

"They _had _to come at us in the dark," Pururu murmured, holding on to her weapon tightly.

"This is going to be messy," Taruru said quietly.

Suddenly, they lunged.

The dogs were absolutely gruesome; enormous, with their fur bitten off, revealing disgusting pink shriveled and diseased skin. Their eyes were crazed, their mouths foamed, their fangs were tipped and broken with colors that shouldn't exist on an animal's teeth.

Garuru was suddenly glad of the series of painful injections the nurse had forced them to go through.

One ran up to him and squealed, eyes dilated. Garuru shot it, and it let out a high pitched whine, the force throwing him up against a tree.

A Leffimug ran up from behind Pururu and pinned her to the ground, mouth wide and prepared to snap.  
Zoruru appeared just in time, clawing it away with metal spikes.

Pururu shivered, squeezing the drool from off her hat. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Zoruru said dismissively, turning away.

Taruru was protecting Tororo, who was hiding behind a tree. Honestly, as much of a good fighter he was, it was… really, _really _hard to take him seriously with the pirate get up on his face. It also didn't help that he pretended he was some guy named 'Johnny Depp' or something.

A Leffimug tossed Garuru to a tree and held him there, claws scraping against his back. It took all his will power not to yell with the absurd pain, but sharp spikes searing down his flesh-

(He stopped. "…What, Lieutenant?" "…Your dog. It just… licked my foot." … "_Stop laughing, Cadet._")

Garuru was able to quickly materialize another gun and cock it over his shoulder, tilting it against the canine creature. It let out a squeal when he had pulled the trigger, and he was finally released.

Truthfully it was a little more difficult to fight with those marks on his back. Pururu tried treating him but he insisted he was fine, refusing to allow a small scratch to wear him down in their battlefield.

If anything, he was more worried about the fire that was growing smaller each and every second. These dogs were just coming at them, weaving in and out of the darkness; appearing, disappearing, reappearing, like ghosts.

One of the creatures even shoved him into the fire, the flames flickering on his back, burning against the skin that was already damaged. Here he was sure that he couldn't fight hand-on-hand combat anymore, his back more than likely an irritated, red color. He materialized a sniper rifle and leaned it against his shoulder, prepared to flick off any monsters that ran toward his teammates when they were distracted. He also protected the fire, knowing that it was their only means of survival to see through this harsh, black night.

More and more Leffimug came in, their methods of attack differing each and every time.

Garuru noticed from the corner of his eye that most of the time it wasn't the same monster that jumped in and out of the shadows; rather, they were different, one staying to… to actually _observe _the techniques the platoon used, experimenting with a new attack each chance they could.

And for that reason Garuru felt completely weak and useless.

They knew that he couldn't move well at that moment, and that by far his best range of attack was afar.

Aha. He was going to get it.

He was only glad that his platoon members recognized this and also constantly changed their means assault. They switched back and forth, to offensive, then defensive, occasionally exchanging a weapon for another, dodging, striking.

Garuru winced as something touched his back, and he immediately turned, rifle in hand.

Tororo squeaked. "_It's me, it's me!_"

The gun's matter disintegrated in his hands. "…New Recruit."

"I-I'm sorry," Tororo said as Garuru turned around again, the long sniper rifle coming back against him. "B-but I think I feel safer with you."

Garuru said nothing on the matter.

Tororo hastily pulled the first aid kit that was conveniently nearby toward him, snapping it open and taking things out. "I'm going to clean your wound and then disinfect it, okay, Lieutenant?"

Garuru nodded, taking a deep breath to prepare for the pain.

He cringed and clenched his teeth, feeling sweat trickle down his face, but refusing to let that disable him from his job.

He aimed, fired- the beast behind Zoruru buckled to the ground.

Aim, fire, straight on the neck- Taruru was able to push the Leffimug off of himself, touching his own neck that was almost torn apart by the dog.

Aim, fire, shoot for a three with one bullet- four of them had surrounded her, and she was trying to fight them all off on her own.

Pururu looked on in amazement as almost all of the Leffimug around her fell down, leaving only one to herself. She nodded gratefully to the Lieutenant. That moment was a regretful one. In a single second, the creature lunged toward her, paws outstretched, hooking over the necklace she was given earlier. It snapped, the beads flying in all directions. She didn't let that moment of weakness make her falter. She resumed the fight, though time to time her eyes would flicker somewhat sadly to the shattered necklace on the floor.

"_G-get away!_"

Garuru flinched and shot his head to the New Recruit; one of the sniveling Leffimug had come near them, likely to attack them both; the youngest member had quickly grabbed onto some of the flaming hot rocks in the fire and hurled them at the dog's face.

It whimpered and ran off.

The night stretched on; the sounds of battle cries, yelps, snarls, and dying squeals filled the humid air.

Eventually the dogs gave up, whimpering as they scampered away from them, more than willing to stalk some other helpless prey.

Tororo had done the job as best he could with the one hand that didn't burn and blister, and he only moved away when the Chief Medic had returned to the two. She gently put some ointment on Tororo's palm, binding it with a small, thin cloth.

"You won't be able to use that very much," Pururu told him regretfully.

"No matter," Garuru said. He looked a bit conflicted for a moment, before he hesitantly placed a hand on the New Recruit's helmet. "Well done. I commend you for your bravery."

While typically the youngest member would be completely filled with pride and probably demand some sort of metal for his courage, he was speechless when the Lieutenant was the one that praised him. He said nothing about it.

"It's your turn, Lieutenant," Pururu said softly. She smiled. "I see Tororo did a good job, but it still needs to be disinfected."

"I understand."

* * *

The rest of the night the platoon used to heal themselves, though they were unable to go to sleep for fear that the Leffimug would attack during their rest. Garuru came up with the idea of switching back and forth for an hour, so that at least one person was awake for some time while the others slept.

They agreed only too happily on the idea.

"You should go to sleep first, Lieutenant," Pururu told him.

He simply waved that thought out of the way, insisting that he take the beginning shift. "Really, I'm fine. Get some rest. I'll go to sleep after the first hour."

Zoruru's robotic foot had come off during the fight, and he found himself unable to hang upside down on one of the nearby trees.

He wasn't happy.

"Now you really are Scraps," Tororo snickered. "Pu-pu-pu!"

Zoruru rolled his eye. "Funny."

"Ah, don't worry about it. I'll fix it in the morning."

"And how are you going to do that if only one hand works?"

Tororo frowned at this. "…Oh yeah."

"I'll help you," Pururu said. "You helped me do my job, Tororo, and I'll help you with yours." She gazed to Zoruru. "Are you comfortable on the ground, Lance Corporal?"

"…I'll manage," he said dismissively.

Taruru tried to sleep with his back to Pururu.

"…Don't think I forgot about you, Private," the medic said with a grin. "Get over here so that I could clean your face."

Pururu was the one who had gotten away with the least amount of bruises and scratches; Tororo's arms were covered with them, though he didn't suffer as badly as the other three. He rolled forward and stood up, mumbling about how it was fine if he could be Taruru the Forever Pirate, that "Pirate" even rhymed with "Private", sort of.

Pururu cleaned his face anyway.

"Chief Medic?"

"Mm?" Pururu gazed at Garuru. "Yes?"

"Can you please give my journal?"

"Oh. Sure."

* * *

Garuru couldn't force himself to give up the shift as he watched his platoon sleeping so soundly. He doodled in his journal upon realizing that this was probably the first time he had seen Zoruru on the ground, asleep. It was a little unusual, like watching a bat sleeping on the floor.

He had this serene look on his face that just didn't show up when he hung upside down, or maybe it did, but it was more pronounced at ground level.

Or, maybe it was because the Chief Medic had decided to sleep right beside him against a tree, her hand resting softly on his head, frozen of a coaxing stroke before her eyes closed.

Tororo and Taruru had fallen asleep near each other, their backs against the other.

Taruru talked in his sleep.

Garuru found himself chuckling at the things he said- three-legged mermaid cows ruling the entire galaxy one day. That he knew one, and that his name was Pete, and Pete had a crab for a girlfriend.

All too amusing.

"…Lieutenant?"

Garuru rose his head from his journal and jumped slightly, not noticing that the light purple Keronian had woken up. She had crawled to him, plopping right beside him. She yawned, and then glanced at his small watch.

"L-Lieutenant…" she whispered, shaking her head. "You can't tell me you've been awake for three hours! What about changing shifts?"

Garuru's eyes flickered over to his platoon. "Tell me if you would have the heart to wake them up if you were in my position."

Pururu's facial expression softened as she followed his gaze. She smiled. "Maybe so." Her eyes trailed over to his journal, and they dilated. "…You…"

"Nothing," Garuru said slowly, closing the book.

"…Don't be ashamed, Lieutenant," Pururu said with a small giggle. "May I see them?"

Garuru sighed, fingers working at his forehead. "Will you promise not to spread this around?"

"I swear as a military officer, Lieutenant."

Garuru reluctantly gave her the book, and she opened it, starting at the first page. It looked normal; the pages were filled out like they were supposed to. He even supposed that it looked like hers in the beginning. But as she flipped on, she noticed small doodles on the margins, the amount of text diminishing on each passing page as the doodles evolved into bigger, more complex drawings.

"…These are very good, Lieutenant…" Pururu said with a small smile. She gazed at him. "Why didn't you want to be an artist?"

"It was never something I took seriously into consideration when choosing my occupation," Garuru said seriously. "I earnestly wanted to be a military soldier- a sniper, even."

Pururu flipped to another page. "I remember this." She touched it. "You have a good memory; these are very detailed."

Garuru didn't reply until she had finished looking at them, the final page being the one he was just working on.

"Taruru's wide mouth will be forever preserved in your little book," Pururu giggled. She handed it back.

"Please get some rest now, Chief Medic."

"I should be saying that to _you, _Lieutenant."

Garuru was silent, looking away.

"Do you mind if I stay up with you?"

"…Chief Medic…"

"I'm staying up whether you decide to go to sleep or not," she said firmly. "At least if you pass out from fatigue I would still be awake."

He hadn't thought of that. "…All right. That's agreeable."

The trees around them were enormous and thick at the branches and leaves; it didn't even let them see the sky, not that they were sure there were any stars out anyway. This planet didn't even have a moon.

The night life around them quietly came alive, chirping, rustling, squeaking.

"It's dark, but it's beautiful, isn't it?"

Garuru gazed at her before looking around. He couldn't see the appeal to it; it was honestly too black to see anything. He went back to his sketches, quickly trying to capture the image of Tororo in a funny position, his arms stretched out wide and slapping Taruru against the face.

"…Lieutenant… look."

Garuru looked up and started. He blinked, holding his breath slightly.

Lights.

Beautiful, subtle lights filled the air, pulsing like the smallest heartbeat, slowly, one by one, lighting up the trees around them.

"They're the Reodines, Lieutenant…"

Upon closer inspection, he realized to his bewilderment that she was right. Their wings were the ones that glowed faintly, their soft, neon-colored bodies bright against the bark.

The pulses were the insects beating their wings, floating across from them, twirling in the night air before landing gracefully onto the trees.

One in particular must have thought he was a tree himself, because it fluttered over to him and landed on his face, soft wings slowly opening and closing, the light pulsing before his eyes. Pururu giggled and reached for it with two fingers, urging the small Reodine on them, and then gently flicking her hand in a way that encouraged it to find an actual tree.

He breathed softly, as if afraid that anything would frighten them into leaving.

He had nothing to worry.

Suddenly, the lights around them pulsed in unison, heaving in and out, the lights dulling and brightening with a great intensity until all the trees around them looked like they were lanterns, the dark slowly and slowly dispersing.

"This… this is beautiful, Lieutenant…"

Garuru put his hand on her own to quiet her down. "Sh…"

She was silent, breathless.

All at once, the Reodines burst forth from the trees and jumped into the air, covering their campsite with that bright, warm, fuzz-like neon-light.

Colors ran across from them, into their arms, the fire, their eyes.

It should have been painful to watch, but it wasn't. It was simply… beautiful.

Slowly, one by one, the colors weaved in and out, each color finding a matching pair, choosing it as their partner, beginning a graceful dance.

Twirls, spins, leaps.

Pulsing again.

Weaving in and out, forming patterns, the Reodines and their light growing fainter and fainter.

Slowly, they fluttered back to the trees, mate in arms, the darkness returning.

Few lonely Reodines remained, twitching in the still night, unable to find a partner of their color. The simply floated on, and on, and on.

One fell into the fire.

Garuru slipped his visor back on and closed his eyes. He then remembered his hand on hers, and quickly pulled away.

"…Oh…" Pururu bit her lower lip. "…He couldn't stand being alone, so he just…"

"They're only insects, Chief Medic."

She was silent.

He cleared his throat. "If you are tired, I wouldn't mind it if you leaned against me for comfort."

"…You're hurt, Lieutenant."

"My back is; my shoulder isn't. Really, Chief Medic, I'm not weak. I can handle a little weight, especially for someone as light as you."

Pururu watched the flickering flame for a moment, hugging her knees.

After a hesitant second, she did so, though stiffly.

"Relax, Chief Medic."

"I-I'll try."

Eventually, she loosened, her small body becoming something of a source of comfort for him.

"…It was beautiful."

Her eyes flickered up to him, and she smiled warmly.

"It was."

* * *

The next morning, Pururu and Garuru didn't say anything regarding the Reodines, instead simply stating that it was a long night as they watched out.

Fortunately, no more Leffimug had come during the night.

The villagers, upon seeing the wounded platoon, immediately invited them to their village for a small feast for their victory, thanking them countless of times while they ate their breakfast.

The food was unusual, to say the least.

FlaMonkey brains, pasta with worms, Batspit saliva.

The platoon settled on the fruits and vegetables that were graciously served for them.

Pururu looked around. "…Hey. Where's Zoruru?"

"Eh, he said he was looking for something back there."

Garuru frowned. "He shouldn't be. It's dangerous."

"Don't worry," the older Keronian from the day before said, whom Garuru had learned with great surprise was the Chieftain. "They're nocturnal, and from your outstanding battle last night, I greatly doubt they'll be back anytime soon."

"That's a relief," Garuru said, biting into a banana-like fruit. He blinked at the fruit, and then grabbed a napkin and spat it out upon realizing that there was a live grub inside it.

The Chief blinked at him with modest surprise. "Are you alright, Lieutenant?"

Garuru turned away as he scraped the napkin against his tongue, shuddering.

"Is that normal?" Tororo asked, disgusted.

"Why, yes, for the most part," the older Keronian picked it up and ate it himself, disgusting Pururu, Garuru (though he absolutely refused to show it), and Tororo further.

Taruru only grinned. "Hey, could I try that?"

"UGH! You're so gross, Taruru!" Tororo lagged his tongue out. He pushed his vegetables away. "Pu-pu-pu! This is a _great _way to get me to stop eating my greens."

Pururu seemed a little exasperated at that fact.

Garuru attempted to eat something resembling a mixture of an orange and a watermelon, peeling the skin and ripping it apart before he ate it.

"Hey, Scraps!" Tororo waved his injured hand. "Where were you?"

Zoruru was using a stick to balance himself. "None of your business, Tubs." He sat next to Pururu, who was the nearest to him.

"Don't eat those," Tororo said solemnly as a word of caution as he pointed to the fruit Taruru was, in fact, chowing down on. "_Trust me._"

Zoruru shook his head at him and turned to Pururu.

The nurse gave him a small plate. "Here. The villagers said that these will help us recover quicker. It's medicine in food- I'm definitely taking some with us on our way back-" She stopped and looked quizzically down on her lap.

Zoruru dropped something on her hand.

"…What is this?"

"…I couldn't find all of it," he replied as he cleared his throat. "So I hope you don't mind I made it into a bracelet instead."

Pururu blinked at the small beaded accessory that she had lost during the battle. "No, no, it's fine! I think I even like it better this way." She rolled it into her wrist and admired the lovely bracelet. She gave him a charming smile. "Thank you."

Zoruru turned away, though even Garuru had seen that his face had degraded into a very, very rosy color, and coughed a '_don't mention it_'. He bit into the fruit that Tororo had specifically told him not to eat.

The result was as everyone predicted.

* * *

"So did they manage to move them?" I asked.

Garuru shook his head. "Though they were grateful to HQ for the offer, they found that moving away from their home would be too heartbreaking, resulting in homesickness. Some did agree to go somewhere safer, though, and these were the ones with little children. They believed that they could manage on their own." He placed his last domino, beating me for the fourth time.

"That's nice," I said with a grin. "How long did you stay down there?"

"Oh, for a few days. When our mission was over, we all fell asleep." He paused. "…Unfortunately I had forgotten to put the ship on autopilot and we had wandered off somewhere else."

"And how'd that go?"

"That's a story for another time, Cadet."

"…Tomorrow?"

"I'll think about it."

* * *

**I hate how annoying the formatting on this is. I mean, seriously. I hate having to go through the whole chapter just to seperate the bunched up sentences and paragraphs. I don't ever remember having to do that when I wrote fanfiction years ago. Do you have any idea how hard it is to write a long fanf- whoa. 11K?! I'M SO SORRY.**

**I honestly didn't mean to make it this long -_-; Ironically I was trying to find some stuff to make it _longer, _but it ended up being too much in the end. Ugh.**

**I'm sorry if there is just way too much stuff going on, and the OOCness of Bariri and Chiroro. Seriously. Those two don't come out _just enough _for me to get a better grip of their characters... I think I've only ever seen Bariri in two, maybe three episodes. And I like him! It's just... his voice... XD;**

***Ahem* Again. I'm sorry for this lousy, long chapter, and I hope you enjoyed.**


	34. Mist

**DAY THIRTY, WORD THIRTY: MIST **

_**As Told by RUBY**_

* * *

I stare out the window as rain drops fall from the dark grey sky. Resting my head in the crook of my arm, my eyes droop at the empty streets and watch as people scurry into their houses.

Everybody in Arizona absolutely adores rain, and I'm no exception. I love the sound of the soft drips of water as they roll off my roof and trickle down the window I'm currently staring through. The smell after rain is also very enticing, but rain happens to be the only time practice is canceled and I actually get the chance to catch up on sleep. Today being Friday, also gives me perfect reason to sleep the rest of the day. But unfortunately, coach decided tomorrow would be a great day to start lifting weights.

At six in the morning.

So for now, I need to stay awake as to not disrupt my sleeping schedule. How fun...

"Pururu." She pops out from the other side of the bed and looks at me with her big purple eyes.

"Yes?"

"If I fall asleep, promise you'll- wait, what were you doing under my bed?" Pururu smiles and laughs lightly, slowly pulling something out from under.

"I was reading a book."

"...Under... my bed...?" She blushes and lifts up a book.

"It's a... scary book..." Staring at the cover I eventually have to blink my eyes awake and see its my magazine on famous killers, the cover filled with pictures of Susan Smith, Andrea Yates and other well-known murderers. Why I have this the world may never know...

"Did you read Jeffrey Dahmer yet?"

"No, I'm on..." she checks the page, "Casey Anthony." I sit up and rub my eyes awake, not trusting them to stay open by themselves.

"I still don't understand the motive in that, I tried looking it up, but I keep getting different answer."

Pururu nods and goes back under my bed to continue reading. The sounds of pages occasionally being turned adds to the pitter patter of the rain.

Why do rainy days have to be so relaxing? I have stuff to do! I can't afford to feel sooooo laaazy.

Ughhhhh, narrating is so tiring.

"Ehhhhh..." I lay face down in my pillow and continue to grumble at my misery.

"Something wrong?" I turn my head and watch Pururu crawl out and look at me, her big head popping out like a cat.

"Not really, but thanks for worrying, the rain just makes me really sleepy." She laughs lightly and abandons the magazine, hopping onto my bed she places her hand on her knees and smiles.

I sit up and clench my pillow to my chest. Staring at her big purple eyes, I wait for her to blink.

Noticing my stare, she stares back at me and fidgets in her spot. Pururu grips her tiny hands and small tears appear at the side of her eyes. I straighten myself and glare back at her.

Before I know it, we're a few inches apart, with our eyes watery and a slight burning sensation at the dryness. My eyes twitch and so do hers, I force my eyes open just a bit more and pray she'll crack first. I lean in closer and so does she, a fierce and stubborn glare on her soft features.

"Ahh!" We squeal and quickly rub our eyes. Sweet moisture~

Pururu stumbles back onto her behind and wipes away the tears.

"Who won?" She manages to barely crack an eye open and I laugh awkwardly.

"Psh, I totally won." Pururu gasps and does a weird twitchy thing with her eyes.

"No way!" She forces down a smile. "I saw you blink before me."

"Pft, you wish!"

She laughs and blinks a few more times, crossing her legs into a much more casual position. "I saw-"

My stomach rumbles. Rubbing the back of my neck, Pururu laughs lightly into her hand. "Random topic change! Do you want to go make food?" She raises a brow.

"What about your family?"

"They're out, won't be home for a bundle of hours, 'til then we have the house to ourselves." I say. She looks away and makes a contemplative sound. "Don't worry, worst case scenario, we burn the house down."

"Well, ok then."

I love these conversation we have.

* * *

"So, when was the last time you had a good ol' fashion home cooked meal?" Pururu looks up in thought and rubs the back of her neck.

"The last one I can remember is back in Keron, before we left, I had a great big potluck with my family, then had a special dinner on the ship." She smiled at the memory and held her hands close to her chest. "It was an amazing day."

"That sounds like a great way to spend your last day."

She smiles and nods happily, I continue looking through my cupboards, or at least the ones I can reach.

Short joke. Weeeeee.

"You haven't had much American food other than what my mother makes, and with all the spices she adds, it might as well be Latin." I kneel down and grab my small case hidden far back behind the last cupboard. "You can't get more American than pizza, so I guess we can make that." I pull out the recipe and skim through the ingredients.

"But, your parents buy pizza all the time?" I make a face and shiver.

"That's fast food, it's really greasy." Placing the lid back on my case, I hide it back behind the kitchen sink and hold the index card between my fingers. "I'm going to show you some REAL American food." I scrunch up my nose. "The fast food industry really lowered their standards these days. Using such skinny, healthy looking people is just another example of false propaganda. I mean, by not making the nutritional facts the first thing consumers see when entering makes them vulnerable, they're just setting themselves up for lawsuits and giving lawyers great examples-"

"Excuse me, Ruby?"

"Huh? Oh...sorry."

She smiles and opens our fridge, shifting from stubby foot to stubby foot. Keronians are so adorable. "Are we ok on ingredients?"

"Uh, yeah, we just need to buy some tomato sauce, but I think we have everything for the dough, we can do that then leave, the rain should clear up by then." She nods and pulls a chair to climb onto the counter and tip toes to reach the cabinets.

"Sounds good, what's the first ingredient?"

"Oh, uh... yeast."

"I don't think we have-"

I sigh deeply. "I'll go get my coat..."

* * *

Well it turns out the rain did clear. Though it left an eerie mist. It was very creepy, like someone was going to jump out of no where and scare the pants off you!

...Wasn't a very comfortable feeling.

Pururu walks in front of me in my old yellow raincoat and rain boots. She squints her eyes at houses looking for something/anything recognizable. When she'd go the wrong way I'd stop her before crossing and tilt my head to the right direction. To which she responded with a huff and stomped her foot in the first puddle she could see.

After a while of this, she stomped her foot twice and waved her arms around. Her cheeks flushed with frustration.

"I can't find my way with all this fog!"

Patting her head, Pururu lets out a sigh in defeat. A small, barely recognizable puff of air escapes her tiny lips.

"S'okay, you get used to the mist after a while." I pat her tiny back and she hangs her head in shame. "Actually, come to think of it, I found you on a day much like today..." she lifts her head and raises a brow. "Don't judge, I always wanted to say that, no way was I passing that up!" She laughs and settles for walking beside me.

"Actually... I don't really remember much of when we first met." Pururu puts a finger to her cheek and stares up in thought. "I remember my insignia broken, and then listening to music."

"Yeah, I found you passed out in a tree, so I brought you home and cleaned you up." She tilts her head.

"I...passed out?" I nod.

"Yeah, you really don't remember anything?" Pururu looks up in thought for a while before giving a sad smile and shaking her head.

"No, my memories foggy..." I love puns.

"Well, it all started on a much like today..."

* * *

"...and that's how I found you." Pururu smiles and sweat drops.

"Oh, that explains a lot."

"Yeah...I was originally going to write it in, but it fits better with another word I got, and it would have complicated things if I-."

"Ruby, the fourth wall."

I chuckle and rub my neck. "Yeah...oh, hey, we're here!" Pointing to a small building, Pururu and I step on the black mat making the automatic doors open, sending a cold chill up my spine.

We walk down the aisles and look for the silly yeast and tomato sauce. Pururu stares at all the ingredients and picks up a bag of candies. She tilts her head at it and examines the bag, flipping and turning it this way and that. Pururu eventually gives up in trying to figure out what it is and hands it to me.

"What is this?" I laugh and gently take the bag from her. Kneeling down to her level, I point at the gummy bears through the clear plastic front.

"They're gummy bears, little chewy pieces of candy with artificial flavoring in them to sweeten them up." She nods and raises a brow, her face darkening slightly.

"But... didn't Tororo have to woo a bear?"

"...Yeah?"

"And these are gummy _bears._"

"Oh! They're not made from real bears, they just call it that because of the shape." Pururu lets out a small breath in relief and gently takes the bag back. Going over the ingredients one more time just to be safe.

Well ain't that cute, she actually thought these were made from real bears! D'aww just thinking about it makes me want to pinch her cheeks! So cute! I just love it when she gets all cute like this. Just makes me want to...

"D'awww!" she squeaks under my hold and lets out a gasp as I squeeze her. "Why do you Keronians all have to be so cute!~" Pururu laughs and gives a playful smirk.

"Even Zoruru and Garuru?" she chokes out.

"ESPECIALLY Zoruru and Garuru!" I eventually let her go and she takes a deep breath. "Zoruru's so adorable the way he says ! It's soo cute! And Garuru being the tough leader has to be all manly, but is just a super softie for Giroro and you guys! I just love it!" I hold her tiny shoulders. "Where have you been for the last many chapters!?" Pururu chuckles and sweat drops.

"R-Ruby, the fourth wall..." darn. I'll have to host a funeral for it later. _Cough NotthatI'mreferencingastorythatheldoneoranythingli kethat_. _Cough cough_. Boy, that was a doosy.

Back to the story!

"See if you can find the yeast." Pururu nods and looks up and down the aisle. I don't really think she'll make much progress though, considering she's shorter than me-

"Oh!" she points to the top shelf and squints her eyes. "Is that it over their?" Well I stand corrected. I look up and see the yeast is, in fact, on the tippy top. I check the height of the shelf, and it is, in fact, taller than me.

"Oh...yeah...I guess it is..." she stares up at me with a raised brow.

"Is something wrong?" I laugh nervously and stare at my feet then back at the yeast.

"N-no... just... give me a sec." I grip on to one shelf and place my foot on another. Looking back down at Pururu, her hand was covering her mouth as her body lightly shook. I blushed. "Don't laugh! I'm not in control of my height and this is the only way we can get to it!"

Letting out a small breath, I lift myself off the floor and pray the stand can hold me. It wobbles lightly, but it holds my weight and I place a foot on the next shelf and pull myself up again. I shakily lift up a hand and reach around the top shelf, sighing in defeat as I grasp air.

"Where's the yeast?"

"It's to your left... no your other left."

"This IS my left."

"Well, my left then!"

"You mean my right?"

"No, my-"

_"Excuse me miss...what are you...doing_?" I try to tilt my head to the voice, but at the position I'm in, can only see the guy's bushy brown hair.

"Uhh, umm... y-you know?" I give a wry smile. "Hanging around." He shakes his head at my attempt of a joke.

"Would you like some help?" My cheeks burn red and I turn away.

"N-no...I'm good..." I slowly lower my foot, but slip on a small plastic sign and end up dangling off the ledge.

So yeah... this is happening...

The guy sighs and takes a step forward. Placing his basket down, he grabs my sides and I squeak. I quickly start to flail my legs around to keep him away, though I manage to kick him in the gut, officially knocking the wind out of him. He let's out an oof and ducks down in pain. And from the sound of that _oof_ it must have hurt.

"I-I'm so sorry!" I let go of the shelf and fall backwards, landing on my bottom. Great, all I wanted to do was get tomato sauce and yeast, but I somehow manage to hurt a guy in the process. Oh fudge, now he's going to yell at me for hurting him and have the police come down and escort me home or take me down to the station for questioning and lock me up for disturbing the peace!

Or worse. _He'll tell my mom!_

The man holds his gut and gives a pained smile.

"It's okay..." he chuckles wryly and stands up. He offers me a hand, though I reject it and push myself off the dirty tiles. "But you shouldn't be climbing shelves like that." My faces turns red and I bow an apology, knowing if I did say anything it would come out too quiet or a squeak. The man reaches up and easily grabs the yeast for me. Tall people will never realize how lucky they are sometimes. "Is this the right one?" I look up and nod, as he offers me the bag.

"...thank you." I take the spice and hold it in my hand. The man laughs and pats my head.

"Just be careful, kid." Kid? How old does he think I am? "Next time you need something just ask, don't just climb." He laughs patronizingly. "But don't worry you'll get taller as you get older." Yeah... no I won't. When my mom was 14 she was at least five inches taller, and when my aunt was 14 she was the same height as me and still is. I'm doomed to be short forever.

I eventually look up at see that it's not a tall MAN helping me. Well, it is a guy, but he looks to be between 19 or 20. Is that considered a man? I'll have to ask someone later. He grabs his basket off the ground and walks away.

FINALLY. At least now that embarrassing moment's over, I'm just glad nobody saw-

I jump at the sight of Pururu as she struggles to contain her laughter. She ultimately fails and bursts out laughing. My face, once again cherry red, I look away and pout.

"Let's just get the tomato sauce and leave..." I say. She soon composes herself once more and apologizes for her rude behavior. "It's fine..." I look around the aisle. "Any idea where the tomato sauce is?" Pururu shrugs her tiny shoulders and looks around, eventually pointing down the aisle.

"Isn't that it over there?"

I squint my eyes and shrug. "Where?"

She takes a step closer and looks up at me. "There, on the top shelf-"

"No."

"Are you sure? It looks like-"

"I'm positive." I turn and place the yeast so it rests in the crook of my arm. Shoving my hands into my pocket, my face begins to burn as I stare down at the most interesting floor the world has ever seen. "I think there's another store across the street. We can check there."

* * *

**Fun fact: We actually _do _have mist/fog in Arizona, but it's not common at all. I think it's only happened twice in my lifetime XD Just thought for those who were curious, yes, it's a fact. **


	35. Seeing Red

**DAY THIRTY-ONE, WORD THIRTY-ONE: SEEING RED**

**_As Told by STELLA_**

* * *

_"I don't hate you. I don't hate you now. So tell me now if this ain't love, then how do we get out, because I don't know,_" I sang as I strolled back home from the store, swinging my katanabrella (umbrella that resembles a katana) back and forth. It has been raining the entire week, so the air was filled with the aroma of wet dirt, the sky was beautifully overcast, and it wasn't too cold this time, mainly because the days are getting warmer. I turn to my street and there I see police cars parked in front of a neighbor's house, like they always are every other week. My shoulders sagged in annoyance as I sighed, "The neighbors are at it again. Causing some sort of ruckus. When will they give it a break?" I walk to my house and pull out my key to enter when a small chill runs down my spine. I suddenly felt uneasy, but shook off the feeling and entered the house.

"Ya llegue (I'm home!)," I received a hello from my mother, who seemed to be ready to go somewhere. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes, I'm going the store to buy some groceries, it might take awhile because I'm also going to cash in a check, go pay a few bills, and then pick up your little brother from school," she replied. This is also a common occurrence that happens every week. Madre goes on errands. "Mind the house, will you? I'll be back in about an hour." She gave me a goodbye kiss on the cheek and left.

Remembering that my older siblings are both at work and the baby we took care of is now with her grandmother, meaning I'm completely alone, well except for Zoruru, I began to sing at the top of my lungs, again.

_"JUST A SMALL TOWN GIRL, LIVING IN A LONELY WORLD, SHE TOOK A MIDNIGHT TRAIN GOING ANYWHE-"_

"Stop with the yelling," Zoruru was hanging upside down on the ceiling fan, coldly staring at me. I gave him a smile and chuckled.

"Hello to you too," I said, walking into the kitchen for a snack. "How was your day?" He didn't respond, as always. "I'll take that as a regular day. Be glad Karara and Chiroro aren't here." Zoruru visibly shuddered. I stifled a laugh, oh the humiliation Zoruru must have felt. Adorably little hyper frogs, one love struck and the other just adorable. Oh the pain Zoruru went through. Pulling out some cheese and tortilla to make a quesadilla, I was thinking about a memory that happened to me a few years ago. I began to laugh at the silly little memory, at how embarrassing I was in my middle school days.

"What are you laughing at?" Zoruru asked, jumping from the ceiling fan, landing on the counter. It was a rather nice jump, I rated it a ten. "I bet it's stupid."

I laughed some more. "Oh Zoruru, you have no idea!" I began to heat up my quesadilla. "This happened six years ago, when I was in sixth grade." The number of years hit me like a herd of air buffalo. "Holey cheese... That was six years ago?" I kneeled at a corner of the kitchen, sat down and rocked back and forth. "I'm ooooooooooooooooold..."

"Hey, stop growing mushrooms and get on with the story." I glared at Zoruru. No one interrupts my moment of sadness-because-I'm-old. Then thought of a brilliant idea.

"I didn't know you were interested in my past, Mr. Grumpy-kins," I said, popping back up from the ground. Zoruru huffed and looked away. He's such a tsundere character. "I'll continue my story if you tell me a story." He shrugged. I took that as a yes. "Excellent! Well anyways. This happened when I was in sixth grade, six school years ago. The entire sixth grade went on a field trip to the Renaissance Festival. Me, being the awesome nerd I am ("Yeah right," said Zoruru), dressed up for the occasion, hooray cosplay! When we entered the gates, there was a little circle of people, or rather actors working for the festivals, getting ready to dance." Zoruru gave me a weird look. "Not like boogey down to disco or the music played today, just waltzing or holding hands and skip in a circle. Well, the group i was in was invited to join the dance and we agreed. I apparently caught the eye of an actor and he asked me to dance with him. Awkwardly I agreed and in the beginning we waltzed then we formed a circle with everyone else. So we skipped in a circle, it was fun, but when it finished, I rushed to the group I was in to escape the actor, who was cute, I have to admit .. oh dear," I began to laugh out loud again, remembering the embarrassing moment and everyone's reactions.

"Will you stop laughing?" Zoruru pulled my quesadilla from the stove so it wouldn't burn and put his on it.

"I'm sorry, it's just hilarious. Anyways, the actor guy ran after me, yelling 'Wait!' and stopped in front of me. All I could think of was 'what does this guy want from me?' he then proceeded to kneel in front of my and held my hand in his, kind of like a... love confession or a marriage proposal kneel and said 'Until we meet again," and he proceeded to..." I began to laugh again, "To kiss my hand, specifically my middle finger, which, back then in the Renaissance time, meant that I was his 'love interest'. Oh, because I knew that fact, I felt my face heat up in embarrassment and everyone surrounding me experienced my facial expression," I widened my eyes and opened my mouth in a flattered yet freaked out way to give Zoruru a visual. It appeared to me like he was trying to hold back a smirk. "Unfortunately for my pride, the teachers saw this as well, and one of them said, 'Stella! We totally saw that! You're too young to be flirting!' Of course I was embarrassed, but at the same time I found it hilarious and was laughing as well. That was basically the highlight of my sixth grade year. It was priceless." Zoruru nodded. He grabbed his quesadilla and placed it on a plate quickly so he wouldn't burn himself. "Now, Señor Metalface, it's your turn to tell your story." Pulling off a piece of the quesadilla, melted cheese oozing out in tendrils, connecting the piece to the the main body, Zoruru thought for a moment before starting.

* * *

There was a sound resembling thunder and there was a violent shake. Zoruru was the first one to wake up... mainly because he was thrown from his usual sleeping place, upside down on the ceiling. His landing on the floor was what initially woke him up. Standing up, Zoruru looked up and saw what was happening, the ship was fast approaching the ground of a red and pink planet. Zoruru kept his panic at bay and ran to the cockpit of the ship. There was beeping and flashing lights as Zoruru grabbed a hold of the steering wheel of the ship to get it under control. Unfortunately for him, the "no fuel" screen was flashing and he began to get nervous. He pulled on the wheel as hard as could so that the crash wouldn't be head on.

"Lance Corporal!" Zoruru looked over his shoulder and Garuru was quickly approaching him, trying to keep his balance on the shaking ship. He grabbed a hold of the steering wheel as Zoruru stepped out of the way. Garuru pulled at the wheel and the ship shuddered

"Lieutenant!" Tororo cried, wobbling into the room, followed by Taruru and Pururu. The ship shuddered again as Pururu wobbled by Zoruru. The shake caused her to lose balance, bringing down Zoruru with her.

"I'm sorry, Lance Corporal!" Pururu cried as she tried to get off of him, but the shaking kept knocking her down.

"Are you alright, Chief Medic?" he asked as she attempted to get up again.

"I'm fine, but-"

"Hold on tight!" Garuru yelled as the ship made a giant leap. The ship crashed into a giant red forest, the contact into the oddly-colored land creating a thundering roar as it slid into the dirt, screeching to a stop. Everyone groaned as they got up. Zoruru realized he was tightly holding onto Pururu and quickly let her go before she noticed.

"Is everyone alright?" Pururu asked, getting off of Zoruru while looking at the platoon. They all nodded, either rubbing their head or another part of their body that was hurt during the landing.

"The ship is damaged and there's no more fuel," Garuru acknowledged blankly, gazing at the controls. He turned to his comrades. "We have to go and look for anyone who could help us." Everyone nodded and approached the crumpled exit.

Zoruru was the first to cautiously step out of the ship. They were surrounded by pink and red vegetation; it was quiet and lonely. There wasn't even a subtle hint of wind present, it was all just still. Everyone else spilled out of the ship and inspected it.

"What happened? Why did we crash?" Taruru inquired, folding his arms.

"Well, I suppose we fell asleep and... I didn't turn on autopilot... We slept to the point where the ship ran out of fuel..." Garuru answered. He sounded disappointed with himself, most likely because of his lack of responsibility on the matter.

"Well. That's certainly great," commented Zoruru. Garuru shot him a glare and Zoruru quickly apologized, looking away. They stood there and gazed around.

"Wow, this is pretty creepy," Tororo started, looking around. "We should leave."

"What's wrong? Scared?" Taruru poked Tororo, teasing him. Tororo swatted his hand away.

"We can't leave," Garuru said. "Not without fuel and a damaged ship. Come." They all walked around, searching for any signs of life. Nothing. They returned to the ship feeling utterly defeated.

"What should we do now?" Tororo asked, plopping down on the floor, tired. Zoruru looked around for anything that could help. If only that darn, broken ship could be of any use... Suddenly, he brightened, a particular thought in mind.

"Someone should stand on top of something tall and look around," Zoruru suggested. They looked around for anything tall and spotted a cliff nearby, hanging over the dense forest. Quickly, they all hiked up and studied their surroundings, examining the eyesore of a color for a planet.

"Hey look! Smoke!" Taruru said. "Do you think there's a village there?"

Everyone turned their attention to the beacon.

"Good eye, Private," Garuru nodded. "Let's go check it out." He turned on his heel and marched back to where they had come from.

They returned to the ship briefly for any supplies that might be needed for the trip to where the smoke was located. When ready, they began their walk.

After about an hour, Taruru began his talking.

"I think we're lost. We already saw that plant," he said. "It's red."

"I'm sure every other plant is red, smart one," an irritated Zoruru said.

"Oh. Well it's such a weird color for a plant." Taruru gazed at the red vegetation and poked it curiously. Suddenly, the plant grew teeth and came out with vines, their needle-like thorns poking out viciously.

All of the red plants came to life and wrapped their vines around their ship. Garuru's gun materialized, as well as Pururu's needle and the spikes on Zoruru's hand.

"Get behind me, New Recruit," Garuru cried out, shooting the attacking vines.

The vines whipped everywhere, trying to capture the platoon members. A giant one slammed onto the ground, scattering the members of the platoon, Zoruru and Pururu rushing to a clearing near a cliff from the deadly plant-life.

"What kind of planet has deadly red plants that come to life and try to kill you?" asked Zoruru, stabbing a vine with his hand sword. He tried to make sure none hit Pururu, who was shooting them with her needle.

Both heard Garuru say, "Unless I remember incorrectly, Planton. The residents are the red plants. We refer to them as the Plantonians." ("Wow, what an original name," I said sarcastically. Zoruru shot me an irritated look. "Oops, continue.") Garuru back-flipped from an attacking vine and shot it. Unfortunately, before being shot, a red thorn got stuck on Garuru's arm, and green substance began to ooze from it. Immediately, Garuru swatted it off and swayed dangerously. "Careful with the thorns, they have... a sort of poison in them."

"I'll look at it right-" A vine swung toward Pururu, but Zoruru blocked it in time with his metal side. The force of the vine was too strong, causing both Keronians to fly off the cliff. Zoruru landed in a secluded area filled with pastel pink plants. It was interesting to point out that he saw no red.

The landing was not a soft one, and it dented Zoruru's metallic arm a bit. He stood up hesitantly, making sure that none of his other parts were broken. Everything seemed in order. He then remembered that Pururu was also thrown off the cliff with him. He began to search for her, hoping she was alright. ("Aw, so you do care!" I said, pinching his non-robotic cheek. "Mr. Metalhead isn't as cold as I thought he was!" "...Shut up.") He found her lying on the ground, surrounded by plants that were a soft shade of pink.

"Chief medic!" He ran to her and kneeled. Pururu groaned and opened her eyes. "Chief medic, are you alright?" Sitting up weakly, Pururu nodded. Zoruru didn't show his relief. "We need to go back and find the rest of the platoon. The lieutenant got hurt and he needs you." Pururu dizzily nodded and tried to stand up, but she fell back to the ground.

"Oh no, I can't feel my legs. I don't think I can walk right now," Pururu looked up at him worriedly. He thought for a moment before coming up with a plan. He turned his back to her.

"I have no other choice but to carry you, chief medic," Zoruru said, slightly agitated, but willing to help out his comrade. Pururu hesitantly wrapped her arms around Zoruru's neck and he stood up, making sure he didn't hurt her. It felt awkward for him to be carrying someone on his back; it didn't happen often. Usually anyone would be too scared to get near him, but he took great comfort in knowing Pururu trusted him. "I apologize if my spikes hurt you."

"Oh no, not at all," she replied, trying to get comfortable on his back. "Where are we going to go first? We were thrown off a cliff, remember?" Pururu was right. Zoruru looked up at the pink canopy to see if there was a clue in where to go. There was none, so he walked back to the area where he landed and inspected it.

"By the looks of my landing spot, it appears as if we were thrown from that direction," he said, pointing to his left. Pururu nodded. Adjusting Pururu in his back, Zoruru began to trek towards the direction he pointed to.

After a few hours of going through endless blurs of pink foliage, Zoruru came across a cliff and stood at the edge to get a better view of the area.

"You know, Zoruru, you can put me down for a rest," Pururu said, who perched up from his back. Zoruru shook his head.

"The lieutenant and possibly Taruru and Tororo are injured. We have to find them quickly and make sure they're okay. Besides," Zoruru glanced back at Pururu, "you're hurt as well, you need to be checked up on, chief medic." Pururu gave him a sweet smile.

"You're right, Lance Corporal... thank you for your concern." Pururu glanced up and spotted smoke coming from afar. "Look! Smoke, do you think it's them?"

Zoruru looked ahead and nodded.

"Maybe it's the smoke from earlier. Let's hope the rest of the platoon are there already." Zoruru was about to jump off the cliff ninja style, when he remembered Pururu on his back. He couldn't risk hurting her even more. Yes, she hindered his movements, but she was important.

Not a burden, but a necessity.

"You can sleep on my back if you're tired... don't worry, I'll fight if anything happens," he said, slowly going back from where they came from and began to walk around the cliff.

"It's best if you run from the danger," Pururu yawned. "If the Lieutenant, Tororo and Taruru are hurt, you would be the only one who can fight. We can't take our chances, so run." He heard Pururu give another small yawn and felt her lay her head on him. After a small silence, Zoruru assumed that Pururu fell asleep and kept on hiking through the red-free area...

* * *

"So what happened next?" I asked after he trailed off from there.

"As we suspected, the smoke was from a small village of fugitives from another planet. They took care of the Chief Medic and went with me to look for the rest of the platoon. They were alright, but the Lieutenant turned to a bright shade of... pink... with little pink leaves sprouting from his body..." I burst out laughing at this, and a smirk played at the corners of his mouth but he quickly regained his composure. "According to the fugitives, the poison from the red plants turn the victim into one of the harmless pink plants, in which a few years will develop into the red ones."

"Whoa, so that means that in many years ahead, that planet would be completely red?" I asked, astonished.

"Yes. It will be."

"Wow... Scary. How did Garuru turn back to normal?"

"The Chief Medic was able to quickly come up with an antidote for him. After a few days, he was back to normal. We fixed the ship, refueled and left."

I nodded, smiling. "Well that was an interesting story. I'm glad you guys got out okay," I responded, finishing my quesadilla. "And I've got to admit, that little moment with Pururu was adorable." He glared at me. I shrugged. "Anyways, do you have any-" We heard gunshots echo throughout the neighborhood. I cringed and kneeled on the floor instinctively.

"Where did that come from?" Zoruru asked.

"It came from the house a few doors down. There are currently police there, so don't worry. Just keep a low profile, and we can go about our business," I got up again and went to the living room. "Want to watch some tv?"

* * *

**Author's Note (from Stella): Not good with endings. Sorry!**


	36. Faith

**DAY THIRTY-TWO, WORD THIRTY-TWO: FAITH**

* * *

"Lieutenant."

"Yes, Cadet?"

"…Were you on my computer?"

Garuru blinked up at me, the set of cards splayed out in front of him.

"No," he said, tilting his head slightly. "Why do you ask?"

I clicked on the bottom tab and opened it, showing him what was displayed on my screen. He examined it curiously, and then flashed an irritated glance at me.

"_Are you implying something, Cadet?_"

Someone was on this website I had seriously never been on before. It was a baby duck game, apparently one of those little flash things that let you raise and train your own baby ducks.

Though in all honesty they actually looked like fat little chicks to me…

"No, it just makes more sense that-"

"So you _are _implying something," Garuru said chillingly.

"Lieutenant," I said gently, "_I'm only saying _that it makes sense."

Garuru closed his eyes patiently, took a deep breath, and then folded his arms. "No, I haven't been on your computer, Cadet."

"….Oh." I blinked at it curiously. "…Huh. Then who was-?"

Suddenly my brother popped out of the closet and dashed out my door.

Garuru and I just… just kind of stared.

"Well that was weird."

Garuru cleared his throat. "…So."

"Right." I pulled up the plastic bag I had left off to the side and set it on my bed. "I got this from Target."

"… 'Target'?"

"It's a store."

"Another one of those 'Dollar Stores'?"

"No," I said with a small chuckle. "Target… it's more expensive." I pulled out an object from the bag and handed it to him. "Here. I got you something."

Garuru blinked at it quizzically. "What is it?"

"It's a sketchbook." I smiled. "I bought you some pencils too, although they may seem a little cheap…"

Garuru hesitantly reached for it and took it. "…Thank you."

"No problem." I felt bad for him. Waiting several hours in a room that smells like apples while doing nothing must be torture for the poor guy.

The purple Keronian stared at the notebook for a moment before tucking it in his sleeping bag.

"I'm going to do some homework now, okay?"

He shrugged.

Ten minutes into my assignment, and I glanced at him again. "…Hey, Lieutenant?"

"Yes?"

"Don't you have homework, too?"

He folded his arms and leaned against the closet-post. "I haven't been contacted by Headquarters yet concerning that matter, so no."

"…Wait." I blinked at him. "…Headquarters… can't they help you with this dilemma?"

Garuru sighed. "No."

"…Why not?"

"We can't reach them."

I gazed at him confusedly.

He chuckled dryly. "This was one of the first things I had talked to New Recruit Tororo about. He mentioned how his computer was merely for leisure activity only, and how the connection isn't nearly as strong enough to contact Headquarters." He rolled one of hands into the other. "We are able to contact others in this planet, hence our ability to talk to Sergeant Major Kururu. And I believe it would be easier just to rebuild our ship rather than ask him to deliver a message to Headquarters for help."

"…How?"

"Messages pending. We are not the only ones in need of assistance; there are…" his voice drifted off somewhat, and he cleared his throat. "The point is, we're comfortable here. In a way. We are in no danger, whereas many Keronians in different places all around the galaxy… all around the _galaxies _are." He looked down and closed his eyes. "I am only being considerate."

"So it has nothing to do with pride and more with the matter of being considerate."

"…Pride is playing a small role, too."

I smirked.

* * *

"Did anything happen at school today?"

I glanced up from my essay and blinked at Garuru, who was playing with the dominoes.

I couldn't help but be slightly insulted that although I had gotten him a sketchbook he didn't get into it right away.

And then I remembered his question.

THUMP!

"Cadet? … Are you alright?"

I felt my face, which was the thing that had landed first when I had tumbled from off my bed onto the floor. I groaned in response.

"Cadet?"

"I think gravity likes me, Lieutenant."

"You're alright."

I laughed weakly and sat up, sliding myself toward the wall that was nearby the bed. "_Ow." _I then crawled over and peeked over at him. "I'm sorry, but… did you just ask me how was school today?"

"If it's none of my personal business, then I apologize."

"N-no, no! It's just, um…" I rubbed the back of my neck. "You've never really seemed to care about…"  
Garuru was silent.

"…We had a new kid today," I said slowly. "Two of them, actually. I… can't remember their names, but they were both guys." I crawled back onto the bed and slid my laptop over so that I could see Garuru. "And seeing how my life is pretty much surrounded by girls, and they were actually kind of shy, come to think of it… I decided to introduce myself to them."

"And how did that go?"

"Well," I shrugged. "It was okay. One of them just kept giving me these _weird _looks, and I got the impression that he would rather be alone."

"…Did you?"

"I'm annoying, Lieutenant. You know that."

"Indeed."

I gave him a playful grin, and typed a few things on my laptop. "The other one is… interesting, to say the least…. Actually, let's just say that I thought I knew the internet well enough until I met him." I rested my cheek on the palm of my hand, erasing an entire paragraph. "They're both nice enough. Remind me of my old friends."

Garuru nodded, visibly losing interest.

I suddenly felt self-conscious. I cleared my throat. "So. Seeing as this chapter is incredibly dry and dull-"

"Fourth wall."

"I murdered it several chapters ago, Lieutenant."

Again, the purple frog was silent.

"…Unless it came back to life and was now searching for my soul."

"If that is the case, then you are on your own."

"You're cold."

"No, I am being strategic. If you now feel threatened for your life, then it would perhaps motivate you draw a gun and learn how to correctly aim."

"…I was joking, Lieutenant."

Garuru simply shrugged.

"As I was saying, seeing as there really isn't a lot of things going on right now…"

"-…You would like to begin the story telling."

"Yeah." I paused. "…Please."

"Very well then," he replied coolly. "You mentioned that you would like to hear about the situation that was resulted in last story's mishap?"

"…Something wrong with that?"

"No. It's just that I had already something in mind for today."

I perked a brow. "…So…?"

"So I have a proposition- and it won't happen often, so I'm only assuming you'll agree."

"…Yeah?"

"Let's both exchange two experiences for today."

"_Whoa. _Four stories in one day, Lieutenant?"

"Please don't make me regret making this offer."

"I'll try," I grinned, laughing embarrassedly when I noticed he saw my excitement.

"However."

My face fell slightly_. Here we go. _

"I expect you to come along with me tomorrow morning for target practice."

"Aha… I should've known there would be some strings attached…"

Garuru stacked the dominoes back in the box. "Well?"

I took a deep breath. "…Okay."

"Good."

"And I'll try not to complain."

"I was expecting you wouldn't anyway."

I rolled my eyes and smirked a little. "I'm glad you have such faith in me, Lieutenant."

"I suppose you start as usual, Cadet."

"Um… okay, let's see…" I leaned against the wall. "…I had these two friends… Jaren and Paulo… and once they came to my door while I was having a little get together with my family. They rang the doorbell, and I answered, surprised that they came by… thinking about it now, _how the heck did they know where I lived…?_ …I guess I should've thought about that a while ago. Anyway! I said I was busy and that they needed to go now. Paulo _head butted the door _when I tried closing it, and kept ramming it and wouldn't let me close it or lock it. I don't know why; I think they must've thought it was funny. When I finally locked the door, I heard something _smash _against it. Of course they made noise, and hearing that noise, my dad came into ask what was wrong. When he opened the door, he saw that Jaren and Paulo had left a Target shopping cart _right in front of our door. _He was seething, and he ran off to have a word with them. That was just… this is why we don't have nice things, Lieutenant."

Garuru blinked blankly at me.

"…Sorry. I'm quoting my friend Penelope." I cleared my throat. "Right. This is why I don't make a lot of friends, Lieutenant. I either make friends with jerks or people who eventually get bored of me and leave me alone. I don't know. Insanity is doing something over and over and _over _again despite knowing the outcome will be the exact same thing. I guess I'm a little insane in the head." I laughed weakly and gently hit my head. "Yeah." I coughed politely. "Your turn."  
Garuru had been giving me a long look, somewhat, _almost… barely _sympathetic. But just as quickly it had come, it left. He nodded. "Very well."

"Can it be funny? Because I think I just made our readers feel a little bad."

"….Yes, and no comment on the latter suggestion." Garuru relaxed. "I believe I've told enough about my platoon; if you would like, I can begin the two with my family."

"You're family," I smiled. "Giroro and your dad?"

"Yes."

"Cool."

"This was when I was an adolescent," he began. "My father wanted to take Giroro and I out on a road trip. I remember I didn't enjoy it much in the beginning, however. I seemed to have forgotten wh… oh. That's right… It was right after…" his voice shook slightly at the end, and his eyes dilated somewhat, as if he had remembered something.

"…Lieutenant-?"

"…Nothing. I apologize for the inconvenience." He folded his arms and gave me a look- _end of discussion. _"Moving on."

* * *

Yes, they had cars in Keron, though they didn't really use or need it all that often, unless they were going far away or something.

Garuru's home was very convenient in the fact that everything was so close by; his school, his house, the diners, the library, the park. Vehicles honestly weren't that necessary.

However, on this particular trip, their father had rented a car.

Garuru had protested that they didn't have the money, but his father reassured him that he had saved just enough especially for this trip.

Their father was a robust, dulled crimson colored Keronian, with wide, slanted and slightly boxed eyes, his pupils small and red. He had a large, dark mouth, a thick mustache trailing along the top of his lips, matching the black out-of-control eyebrows that hung over his eyes. He had a dark skull for an insignia, it resting on, not the typical hats that were usually worn, but a dark-colored bandana and a blank white spot on his belly.  
He actually looked like an older version of Garuru, come to think of it; though he was red, and his eyes were exposed, and he had a friendlier, more inviting, _loud _personality that sometimes tended to overwhelm people.

His father had said with a smirk that this road/camping trip was going to be the best Father-Sons bonding thing _ever. _

Giroro was ecstatic, never having been to a campsite before. He brought a blanket and a teddy bear, and was strapped carefully against the musty-scented gray seats in the back of the car.

Garuru was _far _from ecstatic.

"Dad, I don't want to go," he said, irritated. "I think we'd have just a good time at home."

"Oh, it won't be the _same. _You haven't talked me out of it yesterday, or the day before, or the _day before, _and you won't talk me out of now."  
Garuru rolled his eyes.

"Besides," his father said, "you'll have your music with you, right?"

"Yeah…"

"And you have your sketchbook?"

Garuru didn't answer.

"…You _do_ have your sketchbook, don't you-?"

"I'm not going to need it."

His father frowned and folded his arms. "Garuru. Remember what your therapist said-"

"_I hate drawing. _I don't want to do it."

"Get your sketchbook. Now. It's an order, Garuru."

Garuru licked his lips and lowered his eyes to the ground, muttering about how _lame _this thing was going to be as he stomped past his dad to get the stupid book.

("…How _old_ were you?" "I was entering the adolescent stage. Unless I remember incorrectly, I believe I wasn't even in high school yet." "…Seriously?" "Yes. Why did you ask?" "Because you sound so much like a teenager. It's different from the other times you told stories of when you were younger." …. "Yes, Cadet… it's different." I only gazed at him quizzically, but like before, he brushed the subject off. "Giroro was very young, keep that in mind. He was maybe a year or two into his schooling." "So you guys really have a large gap in your age, then." I paused. "…What did your dad mean by 'therapist'-?" "Moving on, Cadet.")

"Lame, says the city boy," his father said with a grin, leaning over to rub his son's head. Garuru irritably pushed it away and walked inside the car, slamming the door. The older Keronian ambled over to the front, buckled up, and turned on the vehicle. "You're going to have fun, kiddo. Trust me. We'll build a fire, roast marshmallows, tell ghost stories until it's late at night, I'll bring out the Ukulele…"

"_Not _the Ukulele," Garuru said, horrified. "_Please. _I absolutely _beg _you."

"You liked the Ukulele before. Put you to sleep."

"That was, _what. _When I was a _kid?_"

"You're still a kid."

Garuru glowered at his father through the rearview mirrors, and fumed when he saw his dad give him a good-natured grin.

"I like the Ukulele," Giroro squeaked from beside him.

Garuru's look softened when he turned to see his brother, all bundled up in the blanket with that ragged teddy bear in his arms, and shut up, instead choosing to plug in his earphones and turn up the volume. "_Whatever._"

Several hours into the trip later, listening to his music, Garuru turned and leaned his back toward the window, propping his legs against the middle of the seat. He pulled out the worn brown book, opened to a fresh page, and began to draw Giroro sleeping.

_"Draw whatever makes you happy, when you're happy. Do this everyday. Look at it occasionally- it will help."_

The small tadpole had the blanket drooped over his head loosely, with his head against the seatbelt, his shoulders sagging slightly. His arms were tight around the teddy bear that was held upside down, the legs hanging limply over his own legs. The middle of the younger brother's face would wrinkle as he wiggled his nose, or an occasional yawn would break his serene features.

No matter.

Every facial expression was captured in a quick, amateur sketch- rough, thin, faded lines and circles is what it was.

Garuru put the book away, assignment done for now, and sat more appropriately, his elbow against the window pane as he stared out at the scenery.

The bright, cared-for green grass of his home had, along the way, degraded into something dark and wild. Garuru found his eyes were straining to keep up with the landscapes as the car mercilessly drove past it.

The colors sloppily meshed together, running like a watercolor painting, blending together.

Garuru closed his eyes, unable to look at it anymore. He flipped off his visor and rubbed them. Oh, it hurt.

"You alright back there?"

The elder brother blinked irritably to the older Keronian.

"Are we going home now?"

"Nope."

"Then I'm not alright."

"You teenagers…" His father glanced at the rearview mirror to see Giroro sleeping peacefully at the side before flickering them to the elder brother. He cleared his throat. "…Garuru."

His son was quiet.

"…I realize this is hard on you, but try to lighten up a little, okay? Look. Giroro's excited… it's his first time coming out here. It wouldn't hurt to try to smile a little. I think your attitude is scaring him a little."

Garuru refused to say anything to this.

"…Garuru…"

"I don't want to talk to you right now. Stop."

His father sighed. "Alrighty then. But if you do, then…. I'm right here… okay?"

He could feel his father's disappointment when he again decided not to respond.

* * *

Garuru woke up with a start. He looked around wearily, a bit surprised to see that the sky had melted into a black color, when it was orange an hour or so ago. He yawned. "We there yet, dad?"

His father said nothing.

"…Dad?"

"I, uh…" he had laughed nervously, "I think we're lost."

It took a moment for that to sink in.

"…._WHAT?!_"

Giroro sat straight up, his eyes dilated and gray at the sudden noise.

Garuru glanced at him briefly, blushed slightly at this, and muttered an apology, encouraging the small tadpole to go to sleep.

Giroro didn't.

"Did something happen?"

The purple Keronian shot a glare to their dad.

"…Daddy?"

"Everything's going to be okay, kiddo," their father said with a weak grin. "Everything's going to be okay. Try and go back to sleep."

Giroro unclipped the seatbelt.

"Giroro-" Garuru protested, before falling silent when his younger brother crawled over him, falling softly against his belly. Giroro poked a thumb in his mouth and nuzzled his face against Garuru's chest.

Garuru shook his head and gently stroked Giroro's back. So small.

When he felt his brother's chest heave gently in and out, Garuru gave an irritated glare to his father.

"_What do you mean you think we're lost?_" Garuru said in a vengeful, heated whisper.

Garuru's dad shrugged, as if this was a normal occurrence for him. "I said what I said. We're lost."

"Y… _you're an idiot, dad_." Garuru said it in the most scathingly, most annoyed and most scolding way possible without having to raise his voice. He shook his head and sighed. "Alright, then. Ask for directions."

"No."

"_Why not_?"

"If there's one thing a man doesn't do, it's ask for directions."

Garuru couldn't believe this. "_Please _tell me you're joking."

"I'm not. I'm your average stereotypical man, Garuru. You'll have to understand that."

Garuru could feel his cheeks growing cold, and then hot all at once in _broiling _anger. He looked out the window into the raven night, the stars beginning to twinkle.  
The car had stopped in a parking lot, in some little town that was more than likely far away from his own.

Carefully, he held Giroro's blanket against his little brother, unbuckled himself, threw open the door, and walked out with Giroro in arms.

His father made a stumbling noise as he struggled to unlatch the door, opening it to look out. "W…_Where do you think you're going?!_"  
Garuru covered Giroro's ears. "_To ask for directions, stupid!_" His patience was oh-so thin. To his aggravation, he heard the rumble of the car go off behind him, and the lights beaming on his back as his father followed him.

The windows rolled open. Garuru walked on.

"Garuru, get in the car."

"_No._ We're lost. _I'm _going to ask for directions."

His father rose a brow. "…With Giroro?"

"Yes."

"…What if you two get mugged?"

Garuru sucked in a breath. "It's better than being with you."

"Pfft. Stop being overdramatic, Garuru. Get in the car."

"_No._"

His father tapped his fingers impatiently against the wheel. After a while of slowly driving next to his son, he sighed. "I know where we are."

"…Do you."  
"Yes, yes I do."

Garuru could see his father squeeze the steering wheel, the knuckles bulging slightly.

"Get in. It's cold; Giroro could get sick."

It wasn't until he had pointed that out when Garuru realized it was true. He suddenly was aware of his small brother shivering under the blanket, nuzzling his chest for warmth.

The purple Keronian sighed and consented, waiting for the car to stop before he opened the door and softly closed it beside him.

"You aren't going to get us lost again-?"

"Garuru. _I know where we are. _Go to sleep; we'll be there in about half an hour."

Garuru perked a brow, but said nothing to this, shifting around so that his back was against the door and his feet were against the seats in front of him, Giroro lying quietly on his belly.

He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

"_…Psst… Garuru_."

"Mmm…" Garuru rubbed his eye. "W… what…?"

He heard his father sigh. "I tried doing this without you, but I can't. Can you help me out?"

"Uh… sure…"

"Wrap Giroro up, please, and leave him there. And then follow me." His father turned around and walked off.

The purple Keronian did as he was told and curiously ran after his dad, wondering what this was about.

"Do you know how to set up a tent?"

Garuru blinked at him sleepily. "Hunh…?"

"Do you know how to set up a tent?"

"…I can learn…"

"Well, then," the crimson Keronian shook his head slightly. "Can you make a fire?"

"That I can do."

"Good. Then do that, and I'll set up the tent."

Garuru looked around the area wearily. "What time is it?"

"Around midnight," his father replied somewhat embarrassedly. "I tried to do this without waking you up, but then… you're right. It's late. Go back to-"

Garuru waved his hand dismissively. "I got it, dad. Don't worry about it."

It took them about twenty minutes to pitch the tent and create a little fire. When they were done, his father only too happily set the sleeping bags inside the tent while Garuru ran off to get his little brother. He opened the door and blinked, unable to resist a smile for the small tadpole. He leaned down and gently picked him up, resting Giroro's head against his shoulder.

"Ready to go to bed?" his father asked softly, moving to the side as Garuru slipped inside the tent.

"Oh, yes," his son mumbled, carefully plopping Giroro next to him.

Garuru really didn't give a frog that the ground was hard, or that it was chillier than he would've been comfortable to, or that his father had a snore that couldn't compare to a raging train about to slam against a random brick wall.

He dropped dead the second his head hit the pillow.

* * *

It was around seven in the morning when Garuru woke up.

He yawned loudly and stretched, rolling his shoulders.

"Hi, big bro!" Giroro pounced on him from behind and hugged him. "Sleepy head!"

Garuru grinned and gently gave a noogie to his brother, who giggled and ran out. The older Keronian followed him out and shivered slightly, the cool air tingling his skin.

It was a nice smell that drifted about; the warm smoke mingling with the natural scent of the trees around them. The ground was covered with tiny twigs. Garuru hastily brushed them away from the fire, knowing that the floating embers could spark a series of fires around their campsite. Giroro was playing with something, poking a stick at it.

"What are you…" Garuru blinked blankly, and then frowned. "…Giroro."

"Yeah?"

"…What are you doing?"

"Playing with a bug."

Garuru took a deep breath, muttered something unintelligible under his breath, and walked off, deciding that he wasn't even going to bother. He straddled over to his father, who was making something over the fire.

"That smell good, Garuru?"

The purple Keronian huffed slightly and folded his arms. "I'm still mad at you over last night."

"Hey, I was playing around with you. I just wanted to see how you were going to react."

"Well, I- wait.…it was a joke?"

His dad shrugged. "Pretty much."

"_IT WAS A JOKE?!_"

His father gave him a side look. "To be honest with you, I was hoping you were going to cry, but apparently now you're a little too old for that-"

"_You've got to be frogging kidding me_!"

"Hey." His dad pointed a piece of smoked ham at him. "Mind your language. At least in front of your brother."

Garuru was fuming. "I-…! I'm _done _with you, dad!"

"I'm done, too." His father turned around and served his meal on a plastic plate. "Here you go. ….Now look what you've done, throwing meals into a fire and causing a small explosion. That was a waste of food right there, Garuru-"

"_Done! _Done, done, _done!_" Garuru spun around and irritably went inside the tent, zipping it up.

He then realized to his annoyance that he had left all of his stuff in dad's car. That, and it was getting warm inside.

When he stepped out again, Giroro waved a fork at him.

"Big broooo! Come and eat this yummy stuff!"

Garuru's lips twitched slightly.

"Come sit next to me!"

Garuru rolled his eyes up to the sky and cursed whoever decided to give him such a cute little tadpole for a brother. He consented, but sat as far away from his father as possible while still sitting next to Giroro.

They ate breakfast in silence.

After they were done and cleaning up their spot, their dad proposed a hike. While Garuru wasn't to enthusiastic about the idea, Giroro wanted to go. They ended up putting out the fire and heading off, coming back briefly for Garuru's sketchbook, much to the adolescent's annoyance.

"What am I going to do with this _up there?_" he protested.

His dad grinned. "You'd be surprised."

After about half an hour's worth of just ambling around, they stopped at a small, spacey area, the place completely filled with bright colored flowers. Their father pronounced himself an old man and sat down on a fallen log, resting his hands on his knees as he breathed in and out.

Giroro played "The Train Game", in which he was a conductor in an imaginary train filled with imaginary Keronians, and played in the meadow, running and making paths with his tiny body, sending pollen to the sky.

Garuru sat down against a tree and reluctantly brought out his book again, turning it to a random page, not particularly caring about going in order. He just flipped and flipped until he came upon a white one, subtly surprised at how much of the sketchbook he had already gotten through.

Now where's Giroro?

…Where's Giroro?

Garuru stood up, startled, his face taking on a worried expression as he gazed about the open field.

"_Gi-!_"

"BOO!"

"_GAH!_" Garuru spun around, his cheeks turning pink as he saw Giroro giggling, covering his mouth to stiffle the laughter. He then said, probably more in aggravated humiliation than anger, "_Don't do that again_."

"I won't," Giroro said, biting his lip.

"You scared me," the older brother muttered, sitting back down. "I thought you had gotten lost or kidnapped."

"I won't do that," Giroro said sincerely. He plopped beside him. "Hey! Are you drawing something again? What are you drawing? Can you draw me?"

"Uh… sure." Garuru decided it would be best not to mention that he was already going to draw him anyway. He cleared his throat. "So. What are you up to?"

"Nothing much. Jiroro jumped out of the train again."

"Mmhm," Garuru smirked. "Did he die again?"

"Uh-huh. But then he got back on the train and married Miss Furbottom."

"I thought Miss Furbottom was married to Agugu?"

"Yeah, but she killed him before he died."

"Why?"

"Because he ate the last banana."

"Ah. That makes sense. How was the wedding?"

"It was good. The cake was yummy."

"What flavor was it?"

"Bro, will you marry me?"

"_Eh?_" Garuru put down his book and stared at his brother, who was gazing back at him with utmost seriousness. Well _that _didn't come out of nowhere. "…_What_?"

"I said, 'will you marry me'?"

"…Uh…" Garuru tapped the pen against his cheek. "…How would that work, Giroro?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, usually there's a bride, and a groom…"

"What are those?"

"Uh, the bride is usually the girl in the white dress, and the groom is the one standing at the other end."

"Ooohhh," Giroro nodded. "Okay. I can be the one at the end."

"I'm _not _going to be the one wearing the dress, Giro- wait. Why are we even _talking _about this?" Garuru shook his head. "You _do _know what getting married means, don't you?"

Giroro looked up at the sky. "Uh…"

"Exactly," Garuru grinned slightly and looked back down at his sketchbook. "I'm going to hold this against you when you're older. You know that, don't you?"  
His little brother blinked at him. "…So is that a yes?"

"That's a _no, _Giroro."

"Aww…"

The little red Keronian forgot all about the fact he was being drawn and ran back over to the fields, resuming his play of conductorship. Garuru proceeded to sketch him all the way, fumbling irritably over the eraser and removing circles and squares that didn't come out the way he liked it.

Ugh. If only he wasn't such a perfectionist…

"You're pretty good at that."

Garuru started slightly and turned his head upward to his father, who was leaning against the tree he was sitting against, smirking. The adolescent huffed and slammed the book closed, looking away.

"Seriously, Garuru. You're not that bad. Sure you have a few rough spots, but I think you can be a pretty good artist if you-"

"_I'm not going to be an artist, dad._"

Garuru's father held up his hands defensively. "Alright, alright. I was just saying." He folded his arms, resting his shoulder on the tree. "So. What have you been drawing?"

The stupid therapist just told me to draw something that made me happy. Even for a little bit."

"Wow. _You _happy?"

Garuru glowered at him, his parent chuckling.

"If that look don't kill anybody, your friendly smile will."

The smaller frog rolled his eyes.

"So you draw whatever makes you happy?"

"That's pretty much what I just said, dad."

"So Giroro makes you happy?"

Garuru clicked his tongue. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, by the way you look at him, I could tell that it's been mainly him you've been drawing." His father became quiet for a moment, before going on, "…Hey. I… I know this is a long shot, and it may sound kind of… I can't think of the word. But have you drawn me at all?"

"Blunt. _Blunt _is the word, dad." Just like his father. Loud, obnoxious, and annoyingly, tactlessly blunt.

"…Well?"

Garuru shrugged. "I may have sketched you once or twice in here."

His father beamed. "Really? Can I see?"

"_No._"

"Aw, c'mon!"

"_No, _dad. This is not for prying eyes." When the older Keronian tried getting to it, Garuru had to sit down on it to keep his hands off. His father sat down next to him, exhausted from that short-lived struggle.

"What else do you draw in there?"

Garuru shrugged. "Just you and Giroro."

"Really?"

"A teacher, too. Just one."

"You drew your teacher?"

"He's a good teacher. Funny." Garuru bit the end of his pencil, his mind lost in thought. "…He makes me think about a lot of things."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Like what I want to do when I grow up."

Garuru's father blinked at him pleasantly. "And what's that?"

"I think I want to be a sniper."

"You'd do a good job at it."

"…You think so?"

"Definitely."

Garuru nodded. "…I have to improve my aim, though. I'm not that good yet."

"You will be. Practice makes perfect."

"…Thanks, dad."

"No problemo, kiddo." His father gently ruffled his head, this time Garuru letting him do so. When he was done, he sat back down and relaxed. "…So. Me, Giroro, and your teacher."

"Pretty much."

"…What about that girl?"

"…Girl?" Garuru repeated slowly. "…What girl?"

"The one that used to come over a lot. I can't remember her name, though. …Come to think of it… she stopped coming, didn't she?"

"…Oh, _her_." Garuru shrugged dismissively. "I don't know what happened."

"You never drew her in your book?"

"Um… not really," the purple Keronian said, somewhat forgetting his father was beside him as he opened up his sketchbook to another blank page.

"She was a nice girl, though."

"She was."

His father playfully nudged him. "…Did you like her?"

"…Huh?" Garuru gazed back up at him, blinking. "Did I… like her?"

He grinned. "Yeah."

"I guess so? Like you said, she was nice enough."

His dad tilted his head slightly. "What happened exactly?"

"I told you, I don't know," Garuru shrugged. "When I first met her, she told me she liked me, and wanted to know if she could hang out with me. I said, sure. Why not? I needed a study partner anyway. So she just sort of started following me around, asking me to go to the café with her, to the movies, asked me if I could carry her books, to the park together..."

"You did go out with her, didn't you?"

"Of course. She asked politely. Anyway, one day she said something… I can't remember what… and I guess I said something that made her mad, because suddenly she told me that I would never understand her feelings and she struck me across the face. And then she ran away crying. I thought she was having a bad day so I left her alone. Her friends were mad at me. It was weird. And then after that incident, I never really saw her again."

"…Wow."

"I know. It was a very odd experience-"

"I was talking about _you._"

Garuru didn't see that coming. He turned to his father again. "Excuse me?"

"I just… wow." His parent face palmed. "I can't… _wow, _Garuru. It… nothing. It was nothing."

Garuru gave him a quizzical look, but he gave up. "Alright, whatever you say…"

* * *

After hiking around for a little more, they returned to their campsite and sat down, Garuru starting back the fireplace as Giroro excitedly sat nearby, watching with curious, child-like wonder. Their father pulled out the Ukulele.

"No… anything but that!"

Their dad ignored him and played it anyway.

("I like your dad." "Quiet, Cadet.")

It was a torturous afternoon.

Well, at least it put Giroro to sleep.

"…Hey," their father gently prodded Garuru on the shoulder.

"Yes?" Garuru turned his attention to him, grateful for whatever distraction ceased that horrible instrumental playing.

"…Let's play a prank on Giroro."

Garuru wrinkled his nose. "Huh?"

"You heard me."

The purple Keronian blinked at him and then gazed at the tiny tadpole that was bundled in his blanket, on the floor. How could he do such a thing to his sweet little brother…?

Garuru looked back at his father. "What's the plan?"

* * *

They parked the car far off and hid in the trees just a little ways from the campsite. Giroro's dad made a loud, bird-like noise that startled Giroro awake, the small red Keronian looking around sleepily.

Garuru smirked as Giroro began to realize that he was all alone, the latter jerking his head fearfully side to side.

"Daddy? Garuru? … Th-this isn't funny! Where are you?!" Held back by some sort of parental barrier, Giroro didn't dare go too far away from the site. He hastily ran toward the tent and peeked inside, immediately hopping back out when it was clear that his family wasn't there.

"Daddy…? G-…Garuru…?" Giroro's eyes began to shimmer with tears. Finally, he sat down and began to cry, his small fists on his face.

"Aw, dad…"

"Yeah, I know. He's adorable."

Garuru grinned. "We're going to have to reveal ourselves sooner or later. We should do it now before Giroro does something that we regret."

"Can't it be later?"

Garuru rolled his eyes gently and came out of his hiding spot, walking up to his little brother and placing a hand on his hat. When Giroro glanced up and saw who it was, he attached himself to his leg and refused to let go.

Giroro wasn't pleased when he heard that those two schemed to trick him, and played the silent treatment, folding his arms and sitting at a corner.

It didn't last very long, though, because all Garuru had to do was ask if he could draw Giroro's teddy bear.

Giroro was only too happy to oblige.

When night spilled across the sky, and the only light provided was the soft rays of the milky moon above them and the flickering flame before them, their parent proposed a scary story.

Garuru and Giroro exchanged a glance, unsure of how to think of this.

"I'll start it," their father said, "and then Garuru will continue on from there, and then Giroro, and then me. We'll just keep going until we reach a dead end."

"Okay…" Garuru said slowly, unsurely. "Go ahead, then, dad."

He cleared his throat.

"_Once upon a time… there was a Keronian woman who was walking in the woods, all by herself, when suddenly… _you go, Garuru."

Garuru licked his lips. "Um. Okay. _When suddenly she heard a noise… 'snap!' Who was there, who was there? _Is that good enough?"

"That's really good. Your turn, Giroro."

Little Giroro thought hard. "…_ It was a bunny. _I'm done."

Garuru coughed into his hand, stifling the laugh that struggled to come out. His father simply grinned.

"Okie-doke! It was a bunny. Alright. Going on: …_But there was just something… was not right. 'Snap!' came the noise again. It wasn't just a rabbit; it was something larger, something bigger…_ Garuru."

"_She turned around. 'Who's there?' she finally demanded. 'Who's following me?' And then he came out…_ Giroro."

"_He was… _uh…" Giroro thought hard about this, his eyes trailing up to the sky. "…_He was a sea cucumber!_"

"Sea cucumbers aren't scary!" Garuru said, folding his arms.

Giroro nodded solemnly. "They are." He shivered. "I don't like them."

Garuru at this point noticed his father's eyes mist slightly, and he looked a little… uncomfortable. Garuru perked a brow. "…Dad-?"

"Um. I'm… kind of tired now… do you guys mind if we turn in early? We have to get everything packed up so that we could head back home, you know, and I want you guys to have a good night's sleep."

Giroro protested for a little bit, but after making Garuru and their dad promise he wouldn't leave him again, he consented and disappeared into the little tent, Garuru following after him.

"Giroro?" Garuru whispered, letting his brother sink against the blankets and cuddle up next to him. "What's so scary about sea cucumbers?"

"I don't like them."

"…Why not?"

"Because when I was being bad, mom would lock me up in a scary box with sea cucumbers. I don't like them. They bite you when they get mad, sometimes."

Garuru had never heard of sea cucumbers biting people. "…Wait. Mom would… lock you up?"

Giroro nodded. "I didn't like it, but mom said I wasn't good. She kept saying I wasn't good and she would put me in there. Daddy threw away the box, though."

Garuru remained silent, his hand weakly stroking against the back of Giroro's head. He felt pale all of a sudden, when he remembered. When Giroro fell asleep, his heart hardened, and his eyes would not stop staring at the tent flaps where his father would slink in any second now.

He would have a discussion with him concerning this troubling phobia…. And where it came from…

("…Garuru?" "…Yes, Cadet?" "…Nothing. I'm sorry. Go on.")

* * *

Garuru woke up in a lake, shivering.

"…_What?!_"

Water droplets fell down his face, dripping into the mass of liquid below.

"Quack!"

Garuru stared blankly at a duck that had floated toward him, its dumb black eyes gazing unintelligently back at him.

"Quack!"

Garuru stood up, splashing water around him. The duck _quacked _loudly and flapped his wings away, his orange feet smacking against the water as it struggled to make its escape.

"_DAD!_"

* * *

"Have a nice swim?" their father asked smoothly, making the eggs over the fire again.

Garuru was fuming. "_SO IT WAS YOU!_"

Giroro was giggling. "Me too, me too! It was my idea!"

"_What?!_"

"Yeah," Giroro said eagerly. "It was me! Daddy was the one that picked you up and put you there, though. _But it was my idea!_"

"_You little traitor!_" Garuru said, scooping Giroro into his arms and attacking him with a flurry of tickles.

"S-stop it!" the tadpole giggled when his older brother proceeded to run his fingers down his belly. "Th-that's my funny spot!"

"You shouldn't have told me that, you know."

Their father only laughed.

* * *

"And that was it of the trip?" I asked, tilting my head to the right.

"Yes. Giroro and I spent the last bit of it trying to get our father back."

"Did you?"

"Unfortunately, no," Garuru's lips twitched slightly. "At least… not at that time."

"…So-"

"That is a story for another time, Cadet."

I gazed up at the ceiling in musing thought and then looked at him. "Hey, Lieutenant? I noticed you brought up animals that even _I _recognized…"

"…Your point?"

"Ducks, bunnies, wolves… I guess my point is… aren't they _earth _animals? I mean, how do you know about them? Do you guys like, study them in school or something…?"

"No. They're imported from different planets."

I stared at him. "…What?"

Garuru nodded. "You are aware that… what are they called again… horses. Horses, correct? Yes… horses aren't native to this continent. They were brought from else where, am I right?"

"…Right," I said slowly. "…Wait. How did you-"

"Similarly," Garuru continued smoothly, "There are some animals that are native from Keron and other planets as well; theses animals were brought along with the pioneers that wanted to explore Pekopon. Some of the animals, understandably, managed to escape and breed either amongst themselves or with different animals of somewhat similar species to create the animals you know now. Ducks, rabbits, and wolves are just some of the animals that we as Keronians know."

"Oh… that actually makes sense."

"Indeed." Garuru sat down and gazed up at me. "I also have a question for you, actually, if you don't mind."

"Sure. Shoot."

"You never told me about your siblings… if you can share an experience from that, I would be grateful."

"From my sibs?"

Garuru nodded.

"Oh. Okay." I smiled. Not too personal, which is nice. "Um… let's see… There's this one time I…"

* * *

"And that's the story."

Garuru blinked, and then gazed around wearily. "…I have a feeling that our conversation was cut short somehow. Literally."

"Ah, well," I shrugged. "That's how it goes. I know that I'm ripping off from Ruby's chapter but this chapter is already too long on it's own."

"…Fourth wall-"

"Murdered," I reminded him, "Brutally. And they're not going to catch me."

"….Very well. But in all, that was an interesting experience."

"The world will never know."

"…I beg your pardon-?"

"Your turn, Lieutenant."

"…Very well."

* * *

There was a sound resembling thunder and there was a violent shake.

Exhausted from the last mission, for a moment Garuru didn't even seem to care. He simply turned to the side and tried to go back to sleep, his mind reeling about how annoying the ship was being at the moment.

"Lieutenant…"

Something shook his shoulder.

"Mm… please leave me alone…" Garuru muttered, furrowing his brow.

"Lieutenan- _whoa!_" _SMASH!_

Garuru sat up (and noticed that it was somehow difficult to do so) and saw Taruru's entire body slammed flat against his wall.

The purple Keronian grunted irritably. "What are you doing?"

Taruru unstuck himself and held his arm against the wall, trying desperately to keep his balance.

"We're- we're falling, Lieutenant!"

"…What?"

Suddenly, an unrecognizable force tumbled him out of bed.

Garuru groaned, feeling his head.

"What's falling, private?!" he asked loudly, trying to process his brain to what was going on.

"_The ship, sir! _We're _falling!_"

Garuru's eyes dilated. He stood up immediately, his arm erect as he pointed down the door. "Go wake up the others. Now."

Taruru nodded, relieved that the leader was finally taking some reasonable action. He struggled to the door and grabbed onto whatever was available as he traveled down the rooms.

Garuru's hands were sliding, his hands clutching at whatever surface that could keep him stable and on his feet as he walked down to the control room.

He was mildly surprised to see Zoruru there, grabbing the steering wheel and pulling it, trying to make the ship go back to a more natural position.

And he was currently failing at that particular aspect.

"Lance Corporal!"

Zoruru jumped slightly and shot his head over his shoulder, his features softening just very slightly as Garuru now attempted to aright the ship with steering wheel. He pulled hard, and received an eerie shudder from the ship itself. He gazed at the screen and stared at it, realizing to his surprise that the "A.P." wasn't flashing at the corner, and when his eyes flickered down to the panel, he saw that the lever hadn't even been pulled. At all. He hit his forehead several times with his palm, coming to the conclusion that this was all his fault.

"Lieutenant!"

Garuru didn't need to turn around to know that was Tororo coming in. A few more breaths made him realize that Pururu and Taruru were behind him, but he didn't dare remove his eyes from the screen.

Another vicious shake brought all the Keronians who weren't clutching onto something down, Pururu falling over Zoruru, Taruru falling over Tororo.

An intermix of voices of concern and annoyance were uttered as the four tried to pick themselves up again:

"I'm sorry, Lance Corporal!"

"OW! GET YOUR BLUE BUTT OFF OF MY FACE!"

"Oops. Okay."

"Are you alright, Chief Medic?"

"I'm fine, but-"

Garuru held his breath as the clouds that had spread around him began to disperse, landing quickly rushing against the screen.

"_Hold on tight!_" he yelled, turning his face to the side as he prepared for the ship to take a giant leap.

It crashed into red vegetation, the metal screaming as it skidded against the red dirt, Garuru wincing and half-mentally telling himself he was going to need about ten gallons of paint in order to fix the mess he could feel the ship was in.

Half-mentally, because he was half-asleep and wasn't thinking as logically as he felt he should have.

The force threw everyone in different directions, even Garuru, who had let the brief shock loosen his fingers around the wheel.

He had been hurled against the wall, one of the books under the bookshelf wobbling and eventually landing on his head.

Four books, to be precise, and they were all very, very heavy.

…Why is there a bookshelf in the control room?!

Garuru rubbed his head, beginning to breathe regularly when the ship sighed to a stop. There were moans and groans as they picked themselves up, rubbing whatever part of their body that had gotten sore from the ship's crash.

"Is everyone alright?" Pururu asked, gazing around her.

There were nods and mumbled replies, much to the Chief Medic's release. "Good."

Garuru's fingers were working at his scalp as he examined the controls and the screen. Or cracked screen, he noted. He felt Goosebumps travel up his arm, and he cringed. It was going to need repair, and fast… "The ship is damaged and there is no fuel," Garuru acknowledged blankly. "We have to go and look for anyone who could help us." He turned to his platoon. "Now, please."

They nodded apprehensively and walked out, Zoruru in the lead, Taruru in the back, Tororo with Pururu.

"Oh, what happened to your face?" Pururu asked sympathetically, gently running her fingers down his cheek.

"Taruru sat on my _face_, that's what happened!" Tororo shuddered. "His butt is a scary place, Chief Medic. _A scary place._"

Pururu giggled nervously. "I bet it is…" She looked at Garuru with a tired smile, and he made a simple, one-movement nod as he walked past her, the two tadpole-like aliens following close behind him.

Zoruru had been the first to step out, observing the place where their ship had shakily landed. Garuru was the second, cringing slightly at the shock of the sudden redness that surrounded them. He turned back to the ship and examine the craft carefully, his eyes trailing to the hairline fractures and the dented metal, and the crimson stains and the chipped paint…

"This is going to take forever to fix!" Tororo said, putting his hand against the cool metal. Garuru agreed, annoyed.

"It's so eerie here…" Pururu said softly beside Garuru, who glanced at her briefly before looking back at his ship. "It looks like a desolate planet, Lieutenant… it feels so… so empty… There's not even any wind-"

"What happened?" Taruru piped up from next to Zoruru, who was blinking and taking in the red planet. "Why did we crash?"

"Well…" A sudden thought flashed against Garuru's mind, and he turned his attention to the floor. "…I suppose we fell asleep and…" He closed his eyes. "…I didn't turn on autopilot…" He ran his hands against a crack that had opened up, the ugly gash sharp at the sides. "We slept to the point where the ship ran out of fuel…" He couldn't even look at his teammates, his fist curling in. How could anyone dare, especially him, make such a stupid, drastic mistake? He knew someone could have _died _due to this horrible failure.

His platoon respectably stared at him, the notion of saying something irate to him nonexistent in their minds.

"Well."

Or so he thought.

"That's certainly great," Zoruru quipped, folding his arms. Garuru had turned and glared at him, the cyborg hastily apologizing in response and taking a step back in response.

"Wow, this is pretty creepy," Tororo said, biting his lower lip. He inched toward the entrance to their spacecraft. "We should leave."

"What's wrong? Scared?" Taruru teased, poking Tororo's belly. The younger platoon member slapped his hand away and scowled.

"We can't leave," Garuru said pointedly. "Not without fuel and a damaged ship. Come."

He took the lead as they hesitantly walked around, their eyes barely adjusting to the rubicund vegetation. They used smoke signals and S.O.S. fireworks, shooting them toward the sky and lingering to see if they could hear or at least acknowledge some part of life, some sort of sign that they weren't the only life forms there.

As Taruru climbed a tree and yelled something at the top of his lungs, Garuru couldn't help but feel that this planet looked… familiar. He never recalled having been to this place; he was sure he would have at the very least remembered landing here before. Maybe it had come across his planet studies when he was in high school…? When he was training in military school…? A hobby…?

He couldn't remember, but red foliage… it still felt familiar. Like he had at least heard of it…

"We should go back to the ship now, Lieutenant," Taruru said, his coarse voice barely above a whisper. "Nobody's coming."

Garuru's shoulders dropped just very slightly. "…Very well."

He ushered the team together and they made their way back, feeling exhausted more than before and utterly defeated.

The leader knew that he wasn't the only one beginning to feel hopeless, either.

"What should we do now?" Tororo asked, plopping down on the ground. He gazed tiredly up at the sky, his arms behind him holding him up.

Garuru noticed Zoruru's eye spark a bit as he moved his range of sight from the ship to another place in the forest.

"Someone should stand on top of something tall and look around," Zoruru said. "…_Taller,_" he emphasized when Taruru began to the protest that he _just was _somewhere tall a moment ago.

"Like what, though?" Pururu asked, looking at him. "Like the ship?"

"No," Zoruru shook his head. "Something that overlooks at least part of the area. Maybe we could see some sort of civilization or… I don't know, _something. _Maybe we could find something that could be our ship's place of fuel, and we could at least get it to the nearest, more well-known planet to get it properly repaired."

"…Good thinking, Lance Corporal," Garuru said with a nod. "Yes. Let's do that."

* * *

In maybe a mile within radius of the ship, they came across a cliff that hung over the lower part of the incredibly dense forest.

More red.

Ugh. Even _through _his yellow visor.

He would never look at his father or his brother the same way again.

"Hey, look!" Taruru cried out, his voice back, his finger outstretched to a specific area. "Smoke! Do you think there's a village there?"

Garuru strained his eyes to see. Amidst the thick undergrowth was a small, bald clearing, wisps of (thankfully) gray smoke softly wavering up to the air. "Good eye, Private. Let's go check it out." He turned around and walked back to the ship, his platoon curiously going after him.

"Uh… Lieutenant?" Tororo spoke up, "…The, uh, the village is that way, right?"

"We need to go back and pack some supplies," Garuru said patiently. "I doubt we'll be there in a span of a few hours. Might as well bring some food with us, correct?"

His team nodded agreeably.

Tororo insisted on packing loads of snacks but Garuru turned the suggestion down. He was too tired to be carrying pounds of extra weight around; he honestly just wanted to bring a light sack with the essentials only and just go on with finding the village. He hoped their destination had, at the very least, some sort of fuel to get their ship going.

They went on their way.

The group was oddly quiet for a while, with only an occasional comment on the unusual foliage around them ("Do you think the food here is edible?" "I wonder why there's so many of only one plant…" "Let's all hope that Taruru's butt doesn't become a thinking organism, because I'm sure that it'll one day rule the earth if we're not careful." [these last words were spoken by Tororo in the most serious tone the Lieutenant had heard all day; the small New Recruit wasn't pleased at all when the other members stifled a laugh from this outrageous thought.])

An hour had past when Taruru, his voice fully healed, said, "I think we're lost. We already saw that plant. It's red," he explained to their benefit.

"I'm sure every other plant is red here, smart one," Zoruru retorted irritably.

"Oh. Well, it's such a weird color for a plant." Taruru walked off to the side and curiously poked the red flower.

Suddenly, the plant shivered, opening up its clamped buds and revealing startling teeth that grew and sharpened, the disheveled vines that were scattered around it coming to life, thorns poking out viciously.

All of the red plants around the platoon took this monster's queue, repeating its actions and coming to life, spiky vines whipping around them.

Garuru drew his weapon, Pururu materialized her needle, Zoruru prepared his arm and Taruru took on a defensive stance.

"Get be behind me, New Recruit," Garuru cried out, shooting the attacking vines.

Some of the monsters snapped at them, their petals nothing more than mouths that moved their lips around hungrily.

The vines were what they had to be careful of; it was as if they had eyes of their own, following their every movement and attempting a jab at every opportune moment.

Garuru slid to the side, pushing Tororo out of the way with his arm outstretched.

"Don't touch them," he instructed. He had a bad feeling about this deadly vegetation.

One of the vines, the largest one, rammed itself onto the ground, shaking the earth under them, rippling the ground and scattering the platoon members in different areas. "Private! Watch over the New Recruit!"

"Roger dodger!" Taruru's eyes glowed as they fired from their sockets a beam of energy, the plant that was heading toward Tororo turning to dust once it was within contact.

(I winced. "_What?_ He can shoot _laser _beams? _From his eyeballs?_ How does that _not _hurt?" "You forget that Keronians have a much stronger body, Cadet, then you fragile Pekoponians. And he has eye drops. Moving on.")

"What kind of planet has deadly red plants that come to life and kill you?" Zoruru demanded, cutting the end of a vine that had rushed toward the Chief Nurse. He stood protectively over her, his hands furiously slashing against the foliage.

Pururu yelped and jumped out of the way of another vine, only to have Zoruru quickly come back in front of her and tear it apart. They were slinking back, Zoruru and Pururu, into an area where a small cliff hung nearby. Garuru didn't think about it too much, however; he thought those two would be careful. Besides, as he slid to the right and fired off to the left, he couldn't help but let Zoruru's words sink in.

Deadly red plants…?

Ping.

There we go.

"Unless I remember incorrectly, Planton." He remembered now; it was a science project back in high school; a collection of the most dangerous plants in the universe. He remembered he had listed these in number two of twenty… He cringed. "The residents are the red plants. We refer to them as the Platonians."

("_Plantonians?_" "Yes." "…Plantonians." "Yes, Cadet." "…That's real creative, Lieutenant." "I didn't come up with the name…")

Garuru somersaulted out of the way of a n incoming vine, materialized a short-range pistol and shot it several times. It twisted and spun out of the way, stabbing him with one of its red thorns before Garuru managed to actually kill it with a single shot. He hastily wiped the thorn away, carefully rubbing the sore spot on his arm as he jumped out of harm's way of _another _stupid vine. He swayed slightly, feeling the aftereffects of the poison injected in him. "Careful with the thorns… they have… a sort of poison in them…."

Pururu gazed at him worriedly. "I'll look at it right-" A vine swung toward Pururu, but Zoruru quickly came to contact with it instead, using his cybernetic side as the shield. The utter force, however, left them at the cliff's edge, and in one second, the Chief Medic and the Lance Corporal were thrown off, screaming as they hurled below.

"_Pururu! Zoruru!_" Garuru cried out. His distraction, though brief, was a fatal one. Another thorn attached itself to his shoulder, a vine wrapping hungrily around his leg.

Garuru fired several more times, pulling out the thorn and managing to successfully destroy the wretched plant from off him.

Taruru seemed like he was on track, his face creased seriously, his beams hitting the mark every time.

Garuru held on to his shoulder and gently rubbed it, wincing at the pain.

Was it just him, or was the world spinning a little…?

"L-Lieutenant!"

Something- a plant, more than likely- blew the air out of him as a force equivalent to a punch hurled him into a tree.

He lost consciousness.

* * *

"…I think he's wa…"

"…touch him, you id…"

"…'s all pale…"

"…im alone…"

Light came back to his eyes, and he saw two fuzzy faces looking down worryingly to him.

Garuru bent his elbows back and supported his upper body on them, shaking his head to rid himself of the absurd dizziness.

"He's awake!" Taruru said cheerfully.

Garuru had to switch off his visor. "…This… may sound like a ridiculous question, but… wh… why are there two of each of you…?"

Tororo and Taruru exchanged anxious looks.

"What do you mean?" Tororo inquired softly.

"I mean… th… there are two of each of you… unless it's just me…" Garuru groaned and held his head. "Please stop moving around, you two… it's difficult enough to see…"

"But… we're not moving, Lieutenant…"

"Oohh… If only we knew where Pururu was…" Taruru said, biting his lip.

"He'll be alright… right, Lieutenant?" Tororo asked, blinking down at him.

In that instant, the world stilled, and the extra reflections of the youngest platoon members seeped back into two individual bodies. Garuru blinked rapidly, and then rubbed his eyes.

"I'm fine now."

Taruru and Tororo released heavy breaths of relief.

"I'm more concerned about the wellbeing of the Chief Medic and Lance Corporal, however," Garuru said slowly. He sat completely up, patting his elbows of the red dust. He then remembered, and gazed around warily. "…You… defeated them all?"

"Yeah!" Taruru nodded eagerly. "When I was fighting them, Tororo threw his box of Cheez-Bums at them and they all ran away."

Tororo folded his arms, triumphant. "Yup. And so we came to the conclusion-"

"-that the Plantonians are afraid of cheese," Taruru finished, planting (HA! …No pun intended) his hands on his hips.

"…Fascinating," Garuru said, perking a brow. He reached for his head again. "…How long had I been out…?"

"For about half an hour after the Plantonians ran away," Tororo confirmed, pointing at his watch.

Garuru's shoulders dropped slightly. "…I see." He stood up and wobbled for a moment, Taruru holding out his arms to secure his superior. "I'm fine, Private." He walked over to the cliff carefully and gazed below.

"…That's a long way down, Lieutenant," Tororo said quietly.

"They're fine," Garuru said, turning away. "I know they are. The Chief Medic and the Lance Corporal have proven to be resourceful in their own ways. Knowing them both, they had remembered the direction in which we had seen the smoke, and are more than likely heading on their way now. I have faith that we will join up with them again soon, if not later."

"…Alright," Tororo turned to the Lieutenant. "…So what do we do now? Wait?"

"Of course not," Garuru said with a frown. "We need to go find the village."

"Yeah, but…" Taruru examined him. "You look pale. Like, _really _pale, Lieutenant. I think you should sit down a little longer-"

"I'm fine," Garuru said, his voice hardening into a no-nonsense tone. "The sooner we move on, the sooner we'll see the Chief Medic and Lance Corporal again."

* * *

Garuru had felt it for the past hour, just that they were _staring _at him, but it didn't bug him until Taruru made it blatantly obvious. _The boy's eyes had grown as large as dinner plates. Seriously. _And _unlike _Tororo, who hastily and embarrassedly looked away, Taruru continued to stare even _after _Garuru had turned to glance at them.

Garuru had to know now. He spun sharply toward them. "_What?_"

"U-uh…" Tororo scratched his cheek nervously. "W-well-"

"There's something… uh… _different _about you…" Taruru managed.

"In what way? Am I still pale?" Garuru's lips thinned. "I told you I was fine-"

"No, no, no…. uhh…" Tororo rubbed the back of his neck. "How can I explain it…?"

"You're turning pink, Lieutenant." Tororo glared at Taruru, who grinned uneasily. "What? Someone had to say _something_."

"…I'm… what?"

"Look at your hand, Lieutenant."

Garuru blinked quizzically to him, and then slowly turned his attention to his hand. To his bewilderment, it was exactly what they said- he was turning pink.

It was in blotches and patterns, though, not all at once. Garuru couldn't help but wonder what the _heck _was going on.

Taruru pointed at his own shoulder, and then his arm. "They're _really _pink right in these areas."

Garuru stared at his skin, and then rolled his eyes to the sky. "The Platonians."

"…What?"

"Their poison… turns their victims into one of their own…"

Tororo furrowed his brow. "So, you mean… you're turning into them…?"

"Yes." Of course he remembered. He had shivered at the idea of turning into one of these creatures and had laughed to himself, telling himself that the chances of going to Planton and actually getting poisoned by them were slim to none.

He hated irony.

"Fortunately, the process takes a few years," Garuru said affirmatively, glad he had retained that piece of knowledge. "So it will be a while before I actually turn into one; Chief Medic should be able to cure me as soon as we meet back up with them."

"But in the meanwhile…" Taruru pointed at him. "You're turning pink."

"That is correct."

Taruru and Tororo, now realizing that the Lieutenant was in a lot less danger than they had assumed so before, burst into childish peals of laughter.

Garuru wasn't amused.

"I'm leaving you here." He walked off.

* * *

In the next hour, Garuru had turned completely pink. And not just a soft colored pink, either; it was a bright shade, one that Taruru and Tororo took pleasure in teasing.

When the Lieutenant finally felt that he had had enough, he felt something itch on his cheek.

"…Lieutenant…?"

"What is it now?"

Taruru poked at the little leaf that had grown on his face. "That."

Tororo and Taruru laughed again, and Garuru embarrassedly covered the little plant with his hand.

He tried pulling it off, but was surprised at the pain that it gave by doing so. It was _connected _to him. In the next hour, he had several more leaves popping out of his arms and chest. By this time, the younger boys had ceased their childish joking and were beginning to grow anxious.

"Is it normal for you to turn into one so fast?" Tororo inquired.

Garuru gave a side glance to the hacker. "Yes. The first stage is generally the quickest one. The second and third are the ones that take a certain amount of years."

"Oh."

They walked in silence.

"You have a really pretty flower on your shoulder, Lieutenant."

"Unfortunately my belt is making it uncomfortable," Garuru muttered. He shifted it to the other side, but then saw to his irritation that another leaf had grown there as well.

"Do… you want me to hold it for you?" Taruru suggested

"I would appreciate it, Private. Thank you." Garuru stopped briefly to tug off the accessory that was looped over his chest and give to the light blue Keronian.

Taruru playfully put it over himself. "Wow! This is really cool!"

Garuru sighed, realizing he should have known better. "You may wear it, but please do be careful."

Taruru was only half listening, fingering the circular design. Garuru turned around to continue walking, but twitched to a stop when he heard a familiar '_click_'. "Whoa, this thing opens! It's like a little containment thing! … Cool! You have a picture, Lieutenant?"

"Don't touch it."

"I won't. Awww."

"What, what?" Tororo craned his neck to see. His face softened. "Oh."

("What was it, Lieutenant?" Garuru quietly opened up the circle in his belt and handed me the similarly-shaped photo.)

It was a picture of his younger brother, back when he was still very little. His father was in it too, holding up Giroro on his shoulders. Someone was cut out of it, but from what the two youngest members could see, whoever it was, the Keronian was purple.

"Why did you cut yourself out of the picture, Lieutenant?" Tororo asked, raising his head to look at Garuru.

The Lieutenant simply clicked his tongue, reached over, and snapped his belt's container closed. "I didn't. That wasn't me."

"What? Then who was it?"

"I'm afraid you're being too personal, Private."

Taruru looked slightly hurt. "Uh. Okay."

"Let's go now."

"You want to be purple again, Lieutenant~?"

"Please don't make me hurt you, Private."

* * *

Garuru and Taruru prepared themselves; Taruru defensively, and Garuru with all his pinkly glory. Tororo was behind them.

The bushes ruffled intensely. Their hearts drummed, ready to attack.

When the life-form making the noise came out of the red foliage, they relaxed immensely.

It was only Zoruru.

"Good," the cyborg said, sighing with relief, leaning against a tree. "I found you."

"_ZORURU I THOUGHT I WAS NEVER GONNA SEE YOU AGAAINNNN…!_" Taruru ran toward him with his arms outstretched, his lips puckered out. All the cybernetic assassin had to do was side step out of the way.

Taruru tripped and landed on his face.

"Oh. Uh. Oh, wow." Zoruru cleared his throat when he saw Garuru and looked off to the side. "That… uh… it's a good color for you, Lieuten-"

"I'm not in the mood, Lance Corporal."

"_Right._" Zoruru snickered, his smirk disappearing the instant he saw his superior's face. He coughed and quietly apologized.

"Where is the Chief Medic?" Garuru asked, folding his arms.

"In the village," Zoruru assured him. He gazed at Tororo and Taruru. "These aren't the natives, by the way; they're fugitives."

"Fugitives?"

"Right. They have fuel, and medicine." Zoruru rubbed his metallic arm with his organic hand. "The Chief Medic… I think she might have broken her legs-"

"What?"

"Yes." Zoruru nodded. "I had to carry her all the way there." He looked up to the sky. "Speaking of which, we should probably go there now." He turned back to Garuru. "The Chief Medic should know what to do."

"I would like her to get some rest first," Garuru said quietly.

"Yeah, well…" Zoruru cleared his throat again, a lot heavier this time. "…I'm, err… I'm afraid I won't be able to take you too seriously like…"

"I'll manage," Garuru said under his breath.

* * *

When they had reached the village, the fugitives took them in immediately, giving them food and a place to go to sleep. Garuru wanted to see Pururu, but the leader of the fugitives assured him that she was alright and that it would be best not to disturb her.

Garuru had reluctantly consented.

Taruru and Tororo would make an occasional jibe at Garuru's color, but when they saw he had learned to accept the fact he bright pink, they found the fun over and went back to arguing with each other (all Garuru could remember was that they were having a deep and quite heated debate of whether or not a one-eyed llama would beat an alpaca with a goatee in a thumb-wrestling tournament. Tororo was winning).

Zoruru bid the pink Keronian good night and took refuge in the tree that hung over the hut where the fugitives gladly allowed the Platoon to rest. Garuru turned in early, too exhausted to take the treatment the villagers proposed earlier. He would find a way to turn back soon. Not at the moment, though.

Garuru felt something brush against his arm during his hour's worth of rest. He immediately sat up straight and materialized a knife; it was generally the choice of weapon he used when he felt like he was being attacked in his sleep. It was Pururu, ducking her head defensively behind outstretched arms, squeezing her eyes shut.

Garuru dispersed the matter of the blade. "…Chief Medic?"

"Hello to you too, Lieutenant," Pururu said softly, her eyes flickering over to him.

Garuru looked down at her legs, and then blinked back up at her.

"…I'm fine. Really." Pururu dragged herself closer to him. "I had one of the villagers take me here. Taruru told me of your…" She giggled. "…problem."

Garuru rolled his eyes slightly. "So you understand how to cure me?"

"Mmhm."

"Very well. Can we do it now?"

"Sure." Pururu reached out quickly and yanked the sprout right off of his cheek.

Garuru growled in pain, grabbing on to his face.

"It's going to hurt," Pururu said sympathetically. "So I apologize in advance for the discomfort."

The next twenty minutes involved a painful series of pulls of the weeds that had infested his body. The flower was the thickest, and thus, the last.

Pururu was looking up thoughtfully at the ceiling. Garuru perked a brow. "You aren't going to-?"

"No, no. I'm just thinking, Lieutenant. I can't remember how to remove a flower." She then shrugged. "I think I'm just going to pluck the petals off first. It'll probably be easier to yank off."

Garuru shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Very well."

Pururu pulled the first petal. "Loves me."

"…Excuse me?"

"It's a game," she explained with a giggle. She pulled the second one. "Loves me not."

Garuru continued to stare at her blankly, confused.

"Loves me."

"Loves me not."

There were seven petals.

Pururu seemed strangely happy when she plucked the last one off.

The flower's stem was surprisingly not as painful as the leaves that had clung on to his body. It didn't hurt at all, actually.

Garuru sighed, grateful that the unnatural sprouts were gone from his skin. "Thank you."

"I'm not done yet."

"Very well."

Pururu produced an enormous and horrifically sharp needle.

Garuru stared at it. "...Ah."

"I apologize again in advance, Lieutenant."

* * *

I winced. "Did it hurt?"

Garuru rubbed his arm, as if reliving the memory. "It did. She actually injected me nine times."

"Yikes."

"I've endured worse."

"And you're not pink anymore?"

Garuru perked a bored brow at me.

"…Oh. Right." I grinned sheepishly. "Okay."

Garuru stretched slightly and looked out the window. "The Sergeant Major said he had almost completed his next game."

"Really. So, like, tomorrow?"

Garuru shook his head. "No. In a matter of days."

"I don't care. I hate doing the simulations."

"The girls seem to enjoy it."

"Yeah. _A little too much…_" My phone buzzed.

Speak of the flipping devil.

"Who was it?" Garuru asked.

I tilted my head slightly, my cheek resting against my hand. "It's Stella."

"And what's wrong?"

"…She said she… uh."

"Yes?"

"…She invited me for a… a _slumber party._"

Garuru blinked at me. "…What is a slumber party."

"Something for girls!" I quickly typed 'No thank you' and sent it, flustered.

"A slumber party?"

"It's like a sleepover, Lieutenant."

Garuru still watched me blankly.

"It's like this… activity for… um…" I tried to explain it, but I wasn't too sure myself. I knew my sister had them a lot, and I honestly had never been to even an all-guys spending-the-night-thing before." My phone buzzed again, and I read it, then texted, again, 'No, seriously Stell, I'm fine'. "She _really _wants me to go to that thing."

"But it's a feminine activity."

"Yeah, it is." I sunk my chin against one of my pillows. "Apparently all the girls are going to go, too."

"…I'm guessing my platoon is going to be dragged into it whether they want to or not."

"Yeah, sounds about right." My phone buzzed again. '_No _Stella'.

"She seems really insistent."

"She is."

My phone buzzed for the final time. And I stared at it. I pillow-faced right into my pillow, moaning.

"What's wrong now, Cadet?"

"She said she's bringing coffee."

* * *

**_No, _I don't support GaruGiro. That whole "brother, will you marry me?" was inspired from an actual story of her baby brother my friend told me XD And I thought it was really cute, so I added it in. **


	37. Shades of Gray

**DAY THIRTY-THREE, WORD THIRTY-THREE: SHADES OF GRAY**

* * *

"…How long were you waiting there?"

Gabrielle, that girl who had walked in on me on the last training session, immediately stood up, her eyes wide. "U-um. I just got here."

I perked a brow and tilted my head slightly. "Mm-hm. Okay?"

"Err… where were you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I thought you said you were going to come back here," the girl explained.

"I… did say that, huh?"

"You did."

"Sorry."

She smiled. "Okay, you still apologize a lot. That much I remember." She stretched. "So, are you ready?"

"…For what?" I asked slowly.

"Gun practice! I brought my own." Gabrielle demonstrated by bringing out her weapon, and I had to bite back a yelp as I took a step back.

…I really shouldn't be watching as much murder investigation videos as I do. Especially murders that involve women pulling the trigger.

"I-it's fine," I stammered. "I, um… I-I think I'll um…"

"You'll what?" Gabrielle furrowed her brows. "You aren't going home already, are you?"

I glanced at Garuru, who seemed to be doing his best at trying to be patient. I grinned weakly, and then groaned and rubbed my face. "No. I'm going to practice."

"Great," the girl said with a small smile. "C'mere. I'm going to show you how to aim."

I took a deep breath and quickly accepted the gun Garuru handed to me when she had looked away. I walked over and stood awkwardly beside her. It seems she had brought her own targets with her to practice on; obviously since there were targets there and Garuru and I just got here.

"These yours?" I asked, letting my curiosity get the better of me.

"Yup," The girl nodded. "I have a few extras lying around. I thought it would help you with your practice."

I acknowledged this with a small 'thank you' and rose my hand to knead my forehead. Since it was around four something in the morning, my body was still forcing itself to wake up. Unfortunately my brain didn't think it was a good idea, because now I had something of a headache going on.

Half an hour was spent on me trying to shoot that stupid bulls-eye on the target, but to no avail. I kept missing the stupid thing. For a little bit she tried to put her arms around me again to position the gun properly, but again, I wouldn't let her.  
Not that I think girls are fish or anything, but *shudders*

"Are you doing anything later today?" Gabrielle asked suddenly, almost shyly.

"Um… I'm going to school…" I said slowly, pulling the trigger to one of the targets. I missed and hit a metal something, the bullet bouncing off somewhere and making a _ting! _noise.

"What about after that?"

"I'm hanging out with some friends." I was a bit too embarrassed to admit that Stella had managed to convince me to go to this 'slumber party' of hers, but to preserve whatever ounce of pride that I had left, I persuaded her to have it at the park to give it the feel of a camping trip.

It would probably help the dignity of the other platoon members too, since I learned that the girls were dragging them along as well.

"Oh. That sounds f…" Gabrielle stared at me, and then blinked. "Was your hair always blond?"

I blushed heavily, and looked away. "I… um… I lost a belt."

Garuru coughed quietly behind me. Oh, _haha._ Laugh it up, Lieutenant.

"Aw, that's too bad," Gabrielle said sympathetically. "If it's any consolation, it looks good on you."

"Yeah, I've… um… gotten that a lot…"

I pressed the trigger one last time, and it clicked. I perked a brow at it quizzically and pulled it several more times. It kept clicking.

"You're out of ammo," Gabrielle told me, folding her arms.

"…Oops." I glanced over my shoulder to Garuru, and he simply shrugged and made some sort of gesture indicating that practice was over. What a relief. "I think I'm going to go now."

"Already?"

"Yeah."

"Well, then…" Gabrielle hooked her hands behind her back. "…Are you going to come back tomorrow at least?"

"Probably not."

She frowned slightly. "Then when will you be back?"

"I don't know. It's usually just a very random thing." I twirled my finger slightly in explanation. "It's difficult to really say when."

"Oh."

The look on her face made me feel horrible. Not sure why, but it just did. Maybe she's just a bit lonely.

"I will be back, though?" I suggested timidly.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'll, um, I'll try to be back, anyway."

Gabrielle gave me another small smile and nodded. "…Okay."

* * *

I hate school. Hate it with a passion.

I think I really only enjoy it because of the association I have there. And the teachers. When you have a literature teacher who geeks about books and gives you life advice _from _those books (Tess of the D'Urbervilles: "Girls, don't lick your lips around boys. They find it _appealing_.") , a rebellious government teacher that could easily drive past a yellow light without remorse ("My goal in life is to have a court case named after me."), or a lazy economics teacher that's too lazy to even create his own tests ("What? But that'll be too much work! You guys do it instead."), you know you're going to get some epic learning in those classrooms. The AP part might help too, though…

Oh. By the way, I remembered their names now. Dan. Dan and Nathan. It still seems as if they hadn't quite clicked very well into the whole friends thing yet, and I was still bugging them. Well, bugging Nathan, anyway. Dan was reasonably more comfortable with me. Nathan was just a bit distant. I don't know. He hasn't quite told me to go away, so it's likely I'll be sticking around with him a little more.

Since I'm probably making everyone drool on their desks at this moment, I think I'm going to move on.

Stella text messaged me about a few hours after I got back home from school and asked me if I could help set everything up for the sleep-over at the park, and I agreed, giving Garuru the option of staying so he didn't have to constantly wet himself in the dry air (it was getting hotter. There's no doubt about that). He stayed, and I promised I would be back for him when it got cooler outside.

Stepping out into the sun burned my skin.

Yes, that's how hot it is now. The tiniest trickles of sweat was already beginning to appear on my forehead when I walked toward Stella and… the lady that was talking to her.

"…so you won't be here tomorrow?"

"We'll try," Stella promised. "We're just staying the night. We'll leave before noon."

The woman nodded and sighed with relief. "Okay. Good. Just wanted to make sure." She glanced at me and then at Stella. "I'll be off now. Enjoy yourselves, and be careful, alright?"

"We will," Stella said.

"What happened?" I asked, watching the lady walked away.

"That lady's having a party here a little after noon," Stella explained. "She was planning on getting it ready at noon, and she wanted to let me know so that we didn't get in the way."

"Oh. Okay." I rubbed the back of my neck. "That'll work, I guess." I clapped my hands together and settled under the shade. "So. What do you need help on?"

"I have a whole bunch of stuff!" Stella said, showing me a wagon she had wheeled off to the side. It had a lot of pillows, blankets, bags of marshmallows, some sort of little mechanical box, a bottle… "I think I overdid it. I get so excited with slumber parties since I've never been to one before!"

"Camping trip."

"It's a slumber party, Johnny."

I groaned slightly.

She just laughed. "Just saying the truth."

"I don't know what came over me to accept this invitation."

"Coffee, remember?" Stella grinned. "Usually I wouldn't approve, but actually knowing you has proven to be my greatest asset, ha-ha!"

"Yeah, yeah. So what did you want me to do?

"Just help me set it up."

Stella had multiple blankets that she tossed across the grass, stretching them against each other to make a softer space on the area.

"Are you bringing a tent?" Stella asked.

"Um… I don't exactly have one." I smoothed down the corner of a blanket with my foot. "I'm just using a sleeping bag. It's really nice outside."

"You don't care about the bugs crawling all over you?"

"Not really." I then paused, and wondered if it was going to end well with the Lieutenant, since I… *ahem* figured out a secret he probably doesn't want anyone else to know… "Yeah, I think I'm just going to sleep outside."

Stella shrugged. "Suit yourself, then." She grabbed at her pillows and then proceeded to scatter them on the blankets. "Hey, Johnny? Do you have any stuffed animals?"

I gave her a bored look. "Why would I have any stuffed animals?"

"I kind of see as you as the type of guy to have stuffed animals." Stella laughed. "There's nothing wrong with having stuffed animals, Johnny! I have several of them myself!"

I decided not to point out that it would be illogical that I- a seventeen year old dude- would have cute fuzzy stuffed animals laying around my room.

Unless you count Garuru, but he's far from being cute or fuzzy. And he's not a stuffed animal. Something I doubted that he would be able to accomplish pretending anyway.

"Can you help me set up my tent, Johnny?"

"Huh? Oh, sure."

Ugh. I hate tents like you have no idea. It takes forever to build them and tear them back down. They're just annoying little complex creations that were designed to torture people.

New torture device: make people set up tents for a living, and then have the tents blow up in their faces so that they could set them up again from scratch.

I'm such an evil mastermind.

"I need help in here, please," Stella said, gesturing at her built up tent.

"Sure, sure," I said hastily, following in after her. She was on the floor, sweeping dirt with her hands. "Do you want me to take that for you?"

"Sure," she chirped, dropping the twigs and leaves and dust into my hands. I flung it out the door and clapped the chalky substance from my skin. The wind began to pick up, and her little shelter was beginning to sway.

"Hey, Stell?"

"Yeah?"

"You sure this tent is stable-"

It collapsed in, the cloth falling on top of us.

"…Well this is perfect."

Stella giggled. "It's fine. Let's just try to find the way ou- _oof._" … "…Johnny."

"Yeah?"

"…Why are you walking in the opposite direction?"

"…I forgot where the exit is?"

"…_Ah._"

This is a moment where Dan would casually pipe "_DERP!" _in the background while Nathan face-palms from said pipe.

But they're not here for this moment, so that was completely useless to point out. Wee.

"I'm sorry, did I hit your head?"

"A little," Stella rubbed the spot where she ran into me. "Let's try to get out of here, okay?"

"I'm sorry."

"You already apologized. Even… though you didn't need to. C'mon, let's go." She pushed me out of her tent, and I helped her try to set it back up. Turns out two of the spikes Stella jammed into the ground that held the shelter up in the first place came loose.

"Where's Zoruru?" I asked, pressing my foot against one of the spikes into a new area of ground.

"He's at home. I told him he could wait until after I came and got him."

"Oh, cool. Me too." I got on my knees and pulled out the spike, diving my finger in to the hole in the ground to take out the rock that was blocking the spike's entrance. When I couldn't do it, I simply drove the spike into another plot of dirt.

* * *

Time skip~

Because I can.

That's how I am~

Why am I rhyming?

I poked my head inside my room, and was about to tell Garuru that it was time to go when I noticed he was actually drawing.

In the notebook I gave him.

His face had grown intense, his forehead furrowed slightly, his hand moving swiftly across the page. I almost didn't want to disturb him, but some stupid part of me didn't care and automatically moved my mouth for me.

"…Lieutenant?"

He jumped slightly and blinked calmly up to me. "…Cadet."

"…Hi."

"Hello to you."

"…Uh…?"

"I will assume that it is time to go?"

"…Uh…. Yeah."

"Very well." Garuru put the book to the side, stood up, stretched slightly, and picked up his neatly rolled up sleeping bag and tucked the sketchbook under his free arm. "…After you, Cadet."

"O-okay." I timidly stepped out into the hallway and awkwardly began the way to the stairs, hearing the tiny _tip-taps _of the purple Keronian behind me. "…Hey, Lieutenant?"

"Yes?"

"…Um… what were you drawing?"

"That is none of your concern, Cadet."

I blushed slightly. "Right. Sorry."

"Please stop apologizing."

"I'll try."

* * *

Halfway to the park Garuru had asked me what I was supposed to wear at a sleepover. I had replied 'pajamas or things you use to sleep'. He then looked me over and asked why I hadn't changed my normal clothes and wasn't wearing any sleepwear or carrying a sleeping bag.

….

We had to turn around and go back home.

Upon entering the park I noticed that the girls were already there, sitting down in a circle on the blankets we had tossed on the grass with either their sleeping bag or their tent pitched, talking amongst themselves.

"Hi, Johnny!" Ruby cried out, the only one noticing me come in. I waved shyly and smiled, and then suddenly losing my footing and falling flat on my face.

That got the rest of the girls' attention.

"Are you okay?" Kitty asked, getting up to help me.

"Ow. Yeah, I'm fine." I rubbed my face. I'm an idiot, so I'm accustomed to the pain.

Kitty hugged me a welcome, and I froze uncomfortably. It didn't last long, though; just about half a second, and she pulled away and encouraged me to join the group.

I still feel embarrassed at the prospect that I was having something of a 'slumber party' with a whole bunch of girls. Well. At least I wasn't alone.

"Taruru, you're eating all the popcorn!" Tororo pouted.

"But it's my favorite!" Taruru held up a piece in wonder. "The perfect popcorn."

Rita laughed and gently pushed the bucket to Tororo. "Share, Taruru."

"What's that?" Ruby prodded to me, pointing at the box I held in my hand.

"Um… cereal…" I said slowly, putting it down. I had grabbed it last minute. "I thought it could be something we could eat for breakfast or something…"

"No milk, spoons, or bowls?"

I felt my entire face flush instantly. I slapped my hand on my face. "I'm so, so, so sorry… I really wasn't thinking when I-"

Ruby giggled. "No worries. We'll eat it out of the solo cups Stella brought with her."

"Again, kudos to you for bringing everything, Stell," I said, running my fingers through my hair as I glanced at all the stuff around us. I blinked at her companion, who was sitting cross-legged beside her, looking very much like he wanted to kill someone. "…Stell?"

"Yeah?" she asked cavalierly.

"…Why is Zoruru wearing a bowtie?"

"He lost a bet," Stella said with an offhanded shrug, as if it happened everyday.

"You look so _cute!_" Taruru teased. He immediately was silenced when Zoruru glared at him, though.

"I think you look very handsome, Zoruru," Pururu said with a smile.  
Zoruru huffed and looked away in annoyance. "Can I take it off _now?_"  
"The deal was that you would wear it until we played the game tomorrow."

"Whoa, wait," I turned to the girls in surprise. "The game? We got another game?"

"Pu-pu! Did we forget to tell him? Yeah, we probably did," Tororo rolled his eyes slightly. "Yeah. The old man said he was sending me the simulation tomorrow morning. Since we'll all be here anyway, I figured we could just quickly go home and change and go to your house to try it out."

"…My house?"

"We'll have to leave tomorrow at noon anyway; I'm not sure Stella told you."

"….Oh, that's right." I paused. "Wait. Why at my house?"

"Because it's the only logical place at the moment," Pururu gazed at me apologetically. "Everyone here said that their parents would be home."

"How do you know _my _parents won't be home?"

"Will they?"

I opened my mouth, and then closed it in embarrassment. "…No."

"Oh, then, that's perfect," Pururu smiled. "You won't mind, will you?"

"N-no, I won't," I waved my hands dismissively. "I'm fine."

"Then it all works out," Taruru said, throwing a piece of popcorn and opening his mouth. It hit Zoruru on the head.

"Hey!"

"Oops." Taruru grinned.

"Let's play the games now since everyone's here!" Rita cried out suddenly, holding up an empty bottle.

"What is that for?" Garuru asked, tilting his head slightly.

"We're going to play truth or dare," Rita said with a mischievous smirk. "Here's how the game works: someone spins the bottle, and if it lands on you, then you must either answer to 'truth or dare'. For truth, someone asks you a question and you have to answer to it truthfully. For dare, well, it's kind of obvious."

"Alright," I said with a small nod, gladly taking the cup from Stella. "Thanks for the coffee."

"No problem," Stella said, unusually cheerful that I was drinking what she was absolutely against me drinking.

I took a sip and nearly spit it out. I swallowed it distastefully. "…This isn't coffee."

"Yeah it is. Decaf."

I stared at her, and then looked down at the cup. "…_Great. _Thank you, Stella."

"Don't mention it!"

"Blech. Coffee." Taruru stuck out his tongue. "After what happened to us the _last _time we had coffee, I never want to drink it again!"

Rita stared down in confusion.

"What happened when you drank coffee?"

Taruru laughed. "_Long _story. Tororo wanted revenge for doing something stupid, so he made coffee and turned everyone into-"

"_Taruru!_" the entire platoon snapped.

The girls and I only watched them quizzically. Even Garuru seemed embarrassed, and that wasn't something I saw often.

"Did something… happen?" Stella gently poked Zoruru's shoulder.

"W-we got hyper," Pururu stammered, putting a finger in the air. "Y-yes. We got hyper, and did things we regret."

Garuru's look softened. "…Yes. That's exactly what happened."

"Something tells me that didn't happen at all," Rita said, folding her arms.

Taruru smirked and shrugged.

"I'll start," Kitty said, taking the bottle from her sister. "Does anyone have a harder surface we could use?"

"We can use the cereal box?" I suggested, laying it down on the ground.

It worked well enough.

The bottle spun and slowed, landing on Pururu.

"Oh. I'm first," Pururu said.

"Yup. Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Pururu said, tugging at a bag of marshmallows and taking a fluffy cube out.

"Do you like Garuru?"

Pururu choked on her marshmallow.

Ruby gently patted her back, waiting patiently for her to recover.

"Dare," the light purple said anxiously. "C-can I change it to dare?"

"Once you picked one you can't change it."

Pururu drooped her shoulders slightly. "I-I see. Err… n-no. I don't."

"And why not?" Garuru asked.

Pururu's whole face turned red, but when she turned to him, the color on her face lessened. He was gazing at her curiously.

When she didn't answer, Garuru cupped his chin with his hand. "Am I not that good of a platoon leader?"

"I-I never said-"

"No. Honestly. In what ways could I improve?"

Pururu brightened at the chance to avert this awkward situation and immediately took it. "You're an excellent leader, Lieutenant. Really. Err, I-I meant… yes. Yes, then; I do like you."

Garuru's trouble expression disappeared. "I… see. Very well, then."

Pururu sighed with relief.

Kitty also seemed somewhat satisfied with her answer. She handed the bottle to me, and I spun it.

It landed on Taruru.

"Dare! Dare, dare!" Taruru was jumping up and down now.

"Um… okay," I glanced around, and then settled on one of the bag of marshmallows that was left unopened. "I dare you to eat all of this." I tossed him the plastic bag.

"Pfft. That all? This is easy-"

"With hot sauce dribbled all over them."

The girls grimaced.

"Where are you going to get hot sauce?" Stella asked me.

"Don't worry about it," Taruru announced. "I _always _carry an emergency supply with me!"

Rita opened her mouth to comment, but then stopped and shook her head. "Really, I shouldn't be surprised by now."

Taruru dumped the entire bottle of hot sauce inside the bag and began eating it.

I expected him to make faces as he put them in his mouth but to our bewilderment, it seemed that he was actually _enjoying _it.

We moved on to Stella.

It ended up on me.

"Well isn't that great," I said, frowning slightly. I sighed. "I guess I'll pick dare."

"Cool! Dump out your coffee."

Much obliged. I tossed the plastic cup into one of the nearby garbage cans.

It was Zoruru's turn.

"I'm not playing," the cyborg said, turning around. "Count me out."

Garuru had a similar reaction.

Ruby spun and had it land on Rita.

"Truth or dare?"

"Or."

I hid my grin behind my hand.

"What? That isn't an option? Fine…" Rita leaned back against her arms. "I pick 'truth', then."

"Tell us something interesting about yourself," Ruby said.

"I'm 42 years old, and I was born on the 30th of February," Rita affirmed with a nod.

"But… I thought…?" I looked at her confusedly, and she laughed. "I didn't know February had another day?"

"It doesn't," Ruby said gently.

"…Oh!"

Pururu's turn. She spun it and had it land on Kitty. The latter replied, like her sister, 'truth'.

Not too sure how to play this game, she simply asked what Kitty's favorite color was.

"Red. Like blood."

Rita was the only one not staring at her sister in shock.

Kitty pushed up her glasses. "What?"

"N-nothing." I quickly looked down at the grass.

Rita's turn. The bottle wobbled over to Tororo.

"Dare, pu-pu!" Tororo answered with a grin. "I bet I can handle it."

"Okay," Rita said coolly. "I dare you to tell us about the coffee incident."

That confident smile vanished, and the rest of the platoon suddenly turned to him.

"U-uh…" Tororo bit his lower lip. "Can't we, um…"

Taruru had this wide smirk, the red hot sauce splattered all over his lips, his hands sticky with the marshmallows. "How did I know Rita was going to ask that question?"

"If we could provide you with a better story," Zoruru suddenly cut in, interrupting Tororo's shaky explanation, "Then would you forget about the whole stupid coffee incident?"

"…It depends," Stella said, raising her eyebrows. "What do you mean by 'better'?"

Zoruru looked at Taruru. "Any ideas, rookie?"

Taruru swallowed another marshmallow. "What about that one time when Garuru and Pururu almost married each other?"

For a whole minute straight, there was nothing but silence.

"…._What?!_"

"You are missing the entire concept, Private," Garuru growled.

"Oh, no, not that…" Pururu hid her face in embarrassment.

"You two almost _married _each other?" Kitty asked.

"Oh, boy. Here comes Kitty's inner shipper," Tororo said, rolling his eyes slightly. "Thanks a lot, Taruru."

Taruru shrugged. "Hey, you guys said you wanted me to come up with a better story than the coffee incident. So what'll it be, girls?" He turned to them. "It's either the coffee incident, or Garuru's and Pururu's wedding."

"I like how you just bunched me up with the girls, Taruru," I said blandly.

"Fine. Girls _and Johnny_."

Wow. That sounds weird.

"I don't know. It sounds interesting," I looked at Garuru.

Garuru sighed. "I suppose it is better than the coffee incident…"

"Oh, yeah. _By a long shot_, pu-pu~"

"Alright," Rita said decidedly. "Let's hear the wedding story, then."

"You tell it, Lieutenant," Taruru instructed, digging in his bag of sugary and spicy combined goodness.

"I have to tell it?"

"Well, unless you want _me _to," Taruru said placidly. "It doesn't really matter, although I wasn't there. I'll either over exaggerate the story or make things up."

Garuru took a deep breath. "Very well. I'll tell it."

The bottle tossed away for the moment, we all listened intently.

* * *

"We have received another message from Headquarters."

Garuru placed the manila folder on the middle of the table, his platoon watching him idly.

"And what is it?" Zoruru asked after a still pause.

"It's not something too easy, is it?" Tororo inquired lazily, his fingers tapping against his keyboard. "I've been wanting a challenge for a while now."

"This is a challenge," Garuru said matter-of-factly. He opened up the folder and splayed out its contents, the platoon having to near the table to get a closer look of the papers that the Lieutenant spread around them.

"Ah," Zoruru mused, "Bounty hunting again, is it?"

"Who is he?" Pururu asked quizzically, reaching out to grab a hold of the documents. She furrowed her brows and studied the pictures. "The photos are all different. Are we looking for different aliens…?"

"No," Garuru folded his arms. "They're all the same person. He has been charged with identity theft and a multitude of other felonies. He typically adopts a persona, carries on with his plan, slips away with the stolen goods and has plastic surgery to completely change the general look of his face and body. He's been proven very difficult to find, much less catch. They nickname him 'The Body Snatcher'."

"Body Snatcher?"

"Yes. Like I mentioned before, he is well-known by his identity theft. He finds a specific person, steals their identity, and proceeds to rob them of their livelihood before slinking away to oblivion."

"That good enough for you, Tororo?" Taruru asked the chubby hacker with a grin.

The youngest member simply shrugged. "Meh, it'll have to do."

"Do you have an indication as to where he might be, Lieutenant?" Pururu tilted her head slightly to their leader.

"Yes. Apparently there is an inside source stating they have suspicions as to where the Body Snatcher may be at this very moment. Though we must be very discreet; apparently another platoon Headquarters had sent completely and conspicuously crashed the felon's latest scheme, but he still managed to escape. It's very clear that now he is being extremely careful… he is as intelligent as he is daring…"

"Do you have an understanding of what he is planning on doing now?" Zoruru pressed, repeating Pururu's question.

"I do." Garuru slipped out another sheet of paper and pointed. "He is after the ambassador of Neflik, Inabuyin. Inabuyin is known as one of the most influential billionaires in the galaxy. Due to the last failed attempt to get at him, it's more than likely that he is being more cautious than before…"

"So let me get this straight," Tororo said slowly. "Does he do the plastic surgery before or after he steals the identity?"

"Both. He takes on a different form to disguise himself first, and then changes it to suit the identity that he had stolen, but only until he has had the information. He sometimes tends to kidnap the one whom he is actually stealing the identity from in the most extreme cases, and I certainly think this is one of them." Garuru cleared his throat. "We are not sure what he looks like now, or what form he is now, but there is one thing for certain." He shuffled one of the papers toward himself. "Headquarters has kept a close eye and through methods of both investigation and strategy, they believe they have found his next location." He gazed at the members standing before him, and rested his hands casually against the desk. "We'll be going undercover."

The platoon stared at him.

"Undercover?!" Taruru cried out, the first one to say anything, as usual. "_That's so cool!_ What do we get to do?! Are we going to be FBI agents?! Or samurai?! Ice cream vendors?! _This is going to be so awesome!_" He pumped a fist in the air.

"Why do we need to go undercover?" Zoruru asked, folding his arms.

"We need to be discreet. Going undercover would be the best way to get close to the target without compromising our position. And like I said before… while Headquarters might have calculated his next plot, they don't know who he is exactly. That's why we need to be alert."

"What are we going to be going undercover as anyway?" Tororo frowned.

Garuru coughed politely into a closed fist. "Inabuyin is… very enthusiastic about celebrations." He looked off to the side idly. "…Weddings, in particular."

"Wait, wait, wait." Tororo held out his hands. "Where are we going, Lieutenant?"

"_Diamond Rings Co. _It is said that The Body Snatcher has disguised himself as a wedding planner."

"…What are we…" Zoruru blinked at him. "…_Oh._"

* * *

The wedding planner that they had met in the pale pink office was male, and he looked like to a Pekoponian a tall yellow bird with a long neck, round green eyes that drooped and half-closed, and a small orange beak moving swiftly as he chattered on the phone. A small, dark gray pudgy penguin-like assistant opened the door wider for the two. "He is in here. You may sit down and wait for him to get off the phone." He waddled off before they could say anything else.

Pururu took a deep breath and shared a nervous glance to Garuru before she stepped in. Garuru sat beside her on the two lone chairs that were set in front of the mahogany desk the wedding planner was currently occupying, the bird-like alien still talking animatedly on his phone.

First impressions. Pururu had gently put her hand on Garuru's, only to bring it back when he had jumped slightly in surprise.

So awkward.

Garuru turned away for a moment when the door closed behind them. He tapped on the tiny black microchip that was behind his belt. He whispered, "Can you hear everything just fine, New Recruit?"

"_Yeah, we hear everything fine._"

"Good. Stay quiet, please."

"I'm sorry about that!" the bird chuckled, putting the phone down. "I was just speaking to a client. Have you ever heard of a Bridezilla?" He shook his head and grinned. "I go through those _all _the time. Nasty little things, they are, but hey- if I wanted my special day to be spectacular and the moose-soufflé wasn't the way that I wanted it, I'd probably be a little mad too. Hello!" It seemed it was at this point when he finally noticed the frogs. He leaned back and formed a box-shape with two fingers from each hand, closing an eye to look at the two Keronians through the square he had created. "If that doesn't say picture perfect couple then I don't know what does!"

Garuru had to bite his tongue to keep from correcting him, and Pururu gave the wedding planner a broken smile.

"Oh, oh, oh! I apologize profusely." The wedding planner smiled. He stood up and stretched an arm to Garuru, who slowly and hesitantly accepted it. "I am Stanger. I shall be your wedding planner for this fantastic occasion. I'm very pleased to say that I'm getting _very _good vibes from you two, and that doesn't happen all the often. And! If I may also add, I am never, _ever _wrong. So! Who will I be helping in the bringing together of holy matrimony and special bonding of two people?"

"I am Garuru, and this is Ch… Pururu," Garuru said, choosing his words carefully. "We would like to be… married."

"I figured," Stanger said with an enthusiastic laugh. He sat down. "Let's get down to business, then. Do you have a particular theme in mind?"

"A-ah…" Pururu bit her lip and glanced at Garuru again. "N… nothing too big… something… simple?"

"Simple… I like it! I'm thinking eggshell blues and whites… a hint of light yellow…" Stanger nodded to himself and wrote something down on a little notepad. "Good, good! We'll get into detail on that a little later, then. When were you two thinking about holding the wedding?"

"What is the soonest date you have?" Pururu inquired quietly.

"Soonest? As in, several months, soonest?"

"We mean days," Garuru said, folding his arms uncomfortably.

"…Ah. A little eager for the wedding night, aren't we?"

Garuru couldn't help but glare a little, and Pururu covered her reddened face in humiliation. This was a little too much for both of them.

"I couldn't help it!" Stanger said with a humble laugh. "That's what I always say to my clients who are planning a fast wedding. What happens in Vegas, eh?"

"I don't know what that means," Garuru said dryly.

"We're eloping," Pururu said, putting her hands down. She smiled weakly. "E-eloping, b-because our, err, our parents don't approve of this relationship…"

"How romantic! I agree immensely." Stanger nodded again and scribbled on the paper. "Now! The closest date I have is in five days. Since you two are eloping, I'll take it isn't going to be big? Works well for my schedule. How many were you planning on inviting, anyway?"

"Ten at the most," Garuru replied.

"Mmhm. Alright. So your family won't be there, I assume?" Stanger '_tsk'ed_'. "Such a shame. I do hate it when that happens."

Garuru shuffled slightly in his seat. His father would never, _ever _let it go, burdening him with a never-ending line of jokes and teases.

…It would be fun to see his brother's reactions, though…

"Moving on. So we more or less have the theme tucked under our belt; what about the traditional aspect of the wedding you two were thinking about?"

"Oh," Pururu put a finger to her lips. "Basically a traditional Keronian wedding, right, Garuru?"

"Agreed."

"Good," Stanger murmured. "Mm. Unfortunately this is the first time I've ever actually planned a traditional Keronian wedding, so it would be much appreciated if you told me what it was about."

Garuru and Pururu exchanged a knowing glance.

"We will," Garuru said smoothly, redirecting his sight to the wedding planner.

"Now. Do you have a priest in mind?"

"A… priest?"

"To marry you, of course."

Garuru hesitated on this, and then replied, "Yes. Yes we do. Our priest's name is Zoruru."

"_I'm a WHAT?!_"

Pururu began coughing loudly as Garuru embarrassedly covered his chest area with a hand.

"Oh dear." Stanger stood back up and walked over to the tub of water at the corner of the room, pulling out a paper cup and dripping the liquid inside it.

"_Zoruru_," Garuru growled quietly. "_Please _be quiet."

"_We duct taped his mouth. S'all good." _

"Here you go, my dear."

"O-oh. Thank you." Pururu accepted the cup from Stanger and drank it, peering at the purple Keronian anxiously.

"I have most of the things I need here," Stanger said. "Yes. Write me a list of the people you do choose to invite so that I may send them invitations. Or have you send the invitations, if you prefer. It must be done soon, correct?"

"Correct."

"Well done!" Stanger ushered them out the door. He handed Pururu a slip of paper. "Petey will show you outside. I promise this wedding will be your most memorable and momentous occasion of your lives."

Garuru opened his mouth to suggest something, but by then Stanger already closed the door on them.

"…Does he seem suspicious to you, Lieutenant?" Pururu asked quietly, looking around to make sure no one was spying on them.

"It's too early to tell, but if he really was a wedding planner, then I would have assumed he would have at least known what a traditional Keronian wedding was," Garuru said with a grunt. "It's not one of the rarer traditions in this galaxy."

"Maybe he's new?" Pururu suggested, glancing at the sheet that Stanger had given her.

"Perhaps. Like I said before, it's too early to tell."

The penguin waddled up to them and blinked up at them. "Right this way." The followed close behind him.

* * *

"Yay a wedding!" Taruru jumped up and down. "I've never been to a wedding before! This is going to be so _epic! _And it's the Lieutenant's and Chief Medic's too!"

"It's not _real_," Zoruru said irritably, folding his arms. "It's _solely _for the use of going undercover."

"Yeah, yeah," Taruru puckered his lips out. "You're just mad because you hafta be the _priest._" He snickered, and then said in a monotonous tone, "_Pururu. Do you Garuru to be your lawfully wedded hus-?_"

"Don't make me execute the murder I've been long planning since I met you. Because you're really pushing it right now."

"I wonder if I get to take part in the wedding," Taruru mused suddenly, deciding it would probably be best not to get brutally mutilated.

"Probably not, pu!" Tororo smirked. "You'd probably compromise our position."

"I won't!" Taruru pouted.

Garuru sighed. "We'll see, Private."

"Did you guys find out who it might be" Tororo inquired, chewing on the straw of his soda can.

"No, unfortunately," the purple Keronian said regrettably. "However, we still have much time. Chief Medic."

"Y-yes sir?" Pururu quickly turned to him.

"Let's try to make it conspicuous that we're inviting Inabuyin," Garuru told her. "The more people hear of it, the more likely the perpetuator will make himself better known."

"But how will we invite one of the most influential billionaires in the galaxy?" Tororo asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"Simple," Garuru bent down to pick up a stray piece of paper from off the ground. He gazed at it quizzically and turned it over, eyes softening slightly when he realized it was the form that Stanger had given Pururu. "I know him."

"…You do?" Zoruru perked a brow dubiously.

"I do. Before I became a Lieutenant, I was in another platoon; I was commissioned near his home. One thing led to another, and I became acquainted with him. He's very pleasant… and like I mentioned before, he enjoys taking part in celebrations. I'm sure if I invited him to a wedding he would come."

"What's that?" Taruru swiped the paper from Garuru's hands and examined it. "A schedule?"

"Yes," Garuru said, folding his arms. "The wedding is to take part in several days."

"Awkward." Taruru grinned widely. "Ooh~! You guys are going to dance rehearsal, too?"

"What?" Pururu and Garuru asked simultaneously.

"That's what it says here," Taruru laughed, pointing to something in the piece of paper. "The Lieutenant dancing! This is gonna be fun to watch!"

"I am… _not _partaking in that activity," Garuru said seriously.

"You will if you wanna build up the impression that you two are getting married, pu~" Tororo giggled mischievously, no doubt also finding this unfortunate circumstance amusing. "If you two are really the lovey-dovey couple that has run away from family to elope, it's pretty clear that you'd do _anything _for your fiancée, Lieutenant."

Garuru simply growled and turned away, mildly annoyed.

"You also get to pick out your wedding dress, Pururu!" Taruru pointed out, holding the paper up. "Lucky!"

"How is she lucky?" Zoruru asked dryly. "Have _you _ever wanted to wear a wedding dress before?"

Taruru stared at him, his cheeks sucked in. Zoruru began to say another snarky comment when the former suddenly cried out, "I HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT!"

Zoruru's teasing smirk disappeared. "_Oh._"

Taruru snapped his fingers like some sassy woman waiting in line at the grocery store. "_Don't be looking at me like that. _It was my dream ever since I was a wee tadpole!"

"I thought you said you had the right to remain silent?!"

"Oh yeah, I did, didn't I?" Taruru stopped talking and pondered on the mysteries of life for no reason in particular.

Tororo had gotten bored early in the conversation and was playing around in his laptop. "Hey, Scraps? I have a question."

"Sure," Zoruru said hastily, turning to the tadpole.

Tororo was frowning slightly. "Uh… what do you do in your wedding night?"

Pururu, Garuru, and Zoruru stared at him blankly.

"…You don't ask things like that," Pururu said, her cheeks flaring up.

"You really… you really _don't,_" Zoruru insisted, eye flickering to the opposite side.

"Pu! Why not?" Tororo demanded. "You know I'll just look it up anyway."

"I've been wondering about that too," Taruru said suddenly, looking up at the ceiling. "For some reason the Lieutenant started looking all nervous when you brought it up-"

"You just…" The adults glanced at each other, and then again looked away.

"It's a surprise," Pururu said, finally settling on a simpler explanation. "That's why we can't tell you. You'll… find out when _you_ get married."

"Aww… but that won't be for like, another long time!" Taruru puffed out his cheeks. "…Unless I get Chiroro to marry me. Maybe then I'll find out?"

"S… _stay away from Chiroro!_" Tororo waved an agitated fist at him.

"Did I say Chiroro? I meant Karara." The light blue Keronian blinked at him. "Hey, wait. Why'd you get all defensive all of a sudden-?"

"I didn't get _defensive!" _

"Uh, yeah you did. You're doing it right now, too-"

"_I am not!_"

The argument suddenly erupted into a random burst of boyish play, the younger tadpole jumping on the blue frog and tackling him to the ground.

The adults watched them idly for a moment, and then resumed further planning of the pretend wedding, glad that that awkward question was pushed away for the meanwhile.

"Why do I have to be the _priest?_" Zoruru planted his hands on waist. "I thought I wasn't going to be involved in this whole scheme at all because I was too conspicuous-looking; wasn't that the reason why I couldn't be the groom in the first place?"

"There is one traditional Keronian custom that isn't practiced anymore," Garuru said, catching the paper Taruru had thrown in the air when Tororo had delivered something called a 'Pizza Punch' to the chest. "And it's that one of the priests are completely covered in cloth, not to be viewed by everyone."

"…Oh."

"Precisely. If the Body Snatcher makes a threatening appearance on the scene, you will be there with us."

Zoruru nodded. "I see. Good thinking, Lieutenant."

"Thank you."

Taruru had a black eye. "Are you excited about getting married, Lieutenant?"

"It's not real," Garuru said strictly. "This is primarily for the mission."

"Mmhm," Taruru grinned at Pururu. "I know for a fact you should be happy, though."

"It's for the mission, Taruru," Pururu repeated, shaking her head slightly.

* * *

The next morning, Garuru and Pururu went back to the same building, quietly walking through the hallways and following the penguin was waddling them to their next location.

"Catering, seating arrangements, floral arrangements, wedding cake, decorations…" Pururu murmured to the Lieutenant as she read the contents of the page, "…I didn't think planning a wedding would be so extravagant, L…Garuru."

"Anything for love, right?" Petey squeaked from in front of them.

Garuru fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes. I suppose so."

"You know," Petey said as he turned around, walking backward so that he could face them, "even though Stanger claims that you two are the perfect match and all that mush, you don't exactly speak '_couple_' to me. It almost seems like… you're pulling some sort of _act._"

"N-no!" Pururu stammered. "I-it's not! W-we're just, um… we're just nervous. W-we've never done this before, and it's, erm…"

"Ooooh. I understand. Pre-wedding jitters." Petey winced slightly and glanced at Garuru. "I'm sorry to say so but often that is not a good sign." He looked at Garuru as he gestured to the female Keronian, who was hiding her face in embarrassment again. "If I were you, I think I'd show a little more affection to her. Don't you think?"

"…I suppose…"

"Good! Here is your room." The penguin shoved them inside and closed the door.

Nobody was with them. They took this opportunity to loosen up, because they doubted they were going to be doing so anytime soon.

"…I'm not good at this," Garuru said blandly.

"You're doing your best!" Pururu said encouragingly. "That's what really counts."

"I should maybe have had the Private be the groom instead," Garuru muttered. He sighed and shook his head. "He would probably have done a better job."

"You're doing your best," Pururu repeated.

"I suppose I'll have to be more affectionate to you if we want to appear to be a genuine couple," Garuru then paused for a moment. "…How do you do that?"

"_Try holding her hand._"

Garuru looked down at his belt in mild annoyance.

"That… isn't actually a bad idea, Lieutenant," Pururu said timidly. She blushed heavily when he gazed up at her. "A-and if you let me hold your arm sometimes… I don't know, I'm just guessing…" She rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment.

"…Very well." Garuru placed a hand on his hip. "And what else do couples do?"

"_You're _very _new to all this, aren't you, Lieutenant?_"

"Please just answer the question."

"_Well,_" Taruru's voice began, "_when you guys sit down, put an arm around her shoulders. And Pururu can kinda lean against you. Gives the impression that you two are really close and don't mind in getting in each other's personal space. And even though I can't imagine the Lieutenant doing this, maybe give each other a peck on the cheek once or twice. You don't have to do it, but if you're really trying to sell them into believing this 'relationship' is real, then I say go for it." _

Zoruru's voice came on: _"For someone who hasn't exactly been in a relationship himself, you sure know quite a bit about this romance thing, Taruru."_

"_Hey. Karara has pulled me into _a lot _of stuff. You tend to learn a thing or two from her._"

"So! How are we from our lovely couple?"

Garuru and Pururu immediately spun around to face the bird-like alien, who was gladly stepping inside the room.

"Unfortunately, since this is a very closely planned wedding, our schedule may be a little rushed," Stanger said, somewhat sympathetically. "Really. Typically I would give couples a few months to relax without feeling that unnecessary rush but since you're planning on having your wedding in a few days, we may have to resort to that. You won't mind, will you?"

"No." Garuru took a step closer to Pururu and awkwardly took her hand. "We don't."

That little gesture brightened up Stanger a bit. "Very good! I'll take it that you looked at the schedule that I handed you yesterday?"

"Yes," Pururu nodded. She glanced at Garuru, and then gazed back over to him. "Err… what would you like to accomplish now?"

"I'm not sure if you noticed, but-" Stanger pointed at some of the objects on the paper. "-some of the things on the list are highlighted; that means that I will solely work on it. I just need you to answer some questions of mine to ensure that my vision is similar to your vision of your wedding. Whereas the ones that aren't highlighted are things you can do on your own."

"Like the fittings for the tuxedoes and the wedding gown?" Pururu inquired, reading out loud some of the items.

"Oh! That reminds me." Stanger clapped his hands together. "Do you have anyone in mind for the ring bearer, best man, the one who will carry the bride over to the chapel…?"

"We… don't exactly have anyone for the third position," Pururu said slowly.

"Oh, that's right," Stanger looked at her sympathetically. "Yes, I see. I forget that that position is typically reserved for fathers…"

It was more like they didn't have anyone _period _to fill that role.

"I have a little brother who will play the ring bearer," Pururu said. "Err… and… Garuru has a friend who will be _more _than happy to be the best man… right… honey?" The last word sounded a little forced, but with a sweet smile, it went unnoticed.

"Yes." Garuru gave her a look that said, '_who?_'. Pururu didn't answer and simply turned back to Stanger.

"Thank you very much for doing all of this on such short notice."

"Think nothing of it," Stanger said, gently pinching her cheek. "It's only my job, after all."

Again, Garuru gave Pururu a cautionary glance, but she honestly didn't seem too bothered by it.

They spent several hours discussing what kind of food should be served at the reception, and what kind of decorations should use to represent the 'couple'. Garuru was, admittedly, bored of having to go through all the procedures. He just wanted to catch the guy already, lock him up for his crimes. Going undercover was never one of his favorite things to when he went on missions; he'd rather just quickly get it done and move on to the next mission instead of playing dress up and pretending to be someone he wasn't.

Especially if it involved having to act like he was marrying one of his platoon members.

To Garuru's surprise, Pururu was well able to keep up, seriously considering the options she was given and coming up with brilliant ideas for the celebration. It seemed that she already had a view of the wedding herself, come to think of it.

When they had left the office Garuru pointed it out. Pururu blushed heavily.

"When I was little, I would play wedding and pretend I was the bride," she replied, looking away. "The funny thing is, I think I had more fun planning it out then actually walking down the aisle."

"Ah, I remember now," Garuru nodded. "You did invite me to a wedding before, but I had target practice that afternoon, so I couldn't attend."

"Do you now?" Pururu laughed. "It was such a long time ago."

"Yes, and unless I recall incorrectly, you made Giroro play along with you."

"I did! He was the ring bearer, I think. I made him wear one of my dad's old bowties." Pururu's eyes glittered at the memory. "Keroro was the priest, and Dororo was the flower girl."

Garuru smirked and gave her a side look. "And who did you marry?"

Pururu coughed.

"Come now, Chief Medic. You don't have to be embarrassed." He gestured toward his belt. "I turned off the microphone when we were speaking to Stanger."

"…Oh. Why was that?"

"You seemed perfectly capable of doing everything on your own. And besides; there is an emergency switch activated on this. If it was urgent, New Recruit would know how to turn it on." Garuru gazed at her expectantly.

Pururu took a deep breath. "…I married my teddy bear." She giggled nervously. "I was actually hoping you would be the groom."

Garuru watched her amusedly. "Oh really?"

"Yes. It was a childish crush. Nothing too big." She cleared her throat nervously.

Garuru had a small playful smile. "I see. Very well." He looked away. "Back to the matter at hand. You had mentioned a 'ring bearer' and a 'best man'."

"Yes, I did."

"Who exactly did you have in mind?"

"Tororo as the ring bearer, and Taruru as the best man."

"…Ah."

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"No… I suppose not-"

A small group of wedding planners walked by, talking placidly with each other. Garuru rose his voice slightly.

"Yes, we will be inviting Inabuyin. And he will definitely be there, to our wedding."

Pururu gently wrapped her arms around Garuru's and smiled apologetically to the gang that had now quieted and was giving them odd stares. She pressed her face against him in hopes of further muffling her voice so that only he could hear her.

"I'm sorry to say, but, um… Lieutenant-"

"I'm not a very good actor."

"You're not…"

* * *

The next few days were surprisingly busy. Pururu was gone more often, being the one with a better grasp of the pretend wedding. Garuru was in charge of writing all the invitations (very, very few people would be invited) and sending them off, wondering vaguely if they would be reached in time before the actual ceremony.  
Inabuyin responded right away, only too gleeful to attend, happy that his friend finally found someone in his all too dull, boring, miserable, melancholy, distressful, bachelor work-oriented life.

Garuru thought it best not to correct him.

"I found my wedding dress~!"

Garuru jumped, surprised, as Pururu wrapped her arms around him from behind. He blinked. "…Chief Medic? We are at the ship now."

"O-oh." It must've then hit her that they were allowed to be themselves again, free from acting like the sweet runaway couple about to get married. She blushed heavily and backed away. "I-I apologize, Lieutenant. Um. The… excitement has been… getting to me."

"I would appreciate it if you concentrated on the actual mission on hand, instead of the wedding ceremony, Chief Medic. I would also appreciate it if you remembered this is merely a disguise to preserve our true identities as a Keronian platoon."

Pururu's face got redder, something he didn't think was possible. She bowed. "Y-yes sir."

"Did you find anything?"

"Actually, I did," Pururu sat next to Garuru. "The receptionist there has been eyeing me a lot lately… .He's very kind, but sometimes I get the impression he may be up to something…"

"Good. Anyone else?"

"No," Pururu admitted. "They all seem like genuine people. A little too enthusiastic about weddings that aren't their own, but… sweet… you know?"

"I believe that that is what they want you to think," Garuru said, gently waving a pen at her. "But I agree. We are only looking for one person, but it also seems the whole community is earnestly intent on creating a ceremony worthy for about-to-be-married-couples. They are very kind. I believe Stanger is a good suspect to investigate further, however- I just have my suspicions on him…"

"I still don't believe so," Pururu said. "I just have this feeling…" She looked at the clock. "Lieutenant. Speaking of which, Stanger wants us to go meet him in a few minutes."

Garuru nodded. "This will be a good opportunity to keep a close eye on him."

* * *

"No."

Stanger frowned. "I didn't think you would be stubborn about this, Garuru."

The instructor beside them was impatiently folding her arms and looking at her watch. She tapped her foot. "We don't have time for your manly pride, you know. Some of us have places we'd rather be."

"L-... Garuru." Pururu sighed.

Petey, the penguin assistant, shook his head. "This marriage isn't going to last long."

"Please?"

Garuru took a deep breath and awkwardly reached for her, taking her hand in his and putting the other on her hip. She nervously put hers on his shoulder.

"Get closer."

They only did so by a small foot step.

Stanger rolled his eyes to the ceiling and walked toward them, pushing them to the point where their chests were touching.

"Honestly!" Stanger said, "You two act like you've never been this close before!"

He had no idea.

(Garuru refused to further explicate how that evening went, much to the girls' disappointment. Pururu was only too glad to let him skip that particular part).

* * *

"TUXEDOES ARE SO FRESH! I've always wanted to say that!"

"Please hold still…"

The tailor had a few needles in his mouth, trying to sew the suit on Taruru. Tororo was bored and complaining about how his legs were getting tired from standing up too long. The tailor working on his commented that they've only been at it for about two minutes.

Garuru shook his head. Something suddenly poked his arm, and he cringed slightly.

"Sorry," the seamstress working on his said, smiling at him. "Your species are just not ones that we're used to actually crafting for. But it's a real challenge, you know?"

Garuru nodded absently.

"I met the bride."

"Did you, now."

"Yes. I'm actually surprised in her choice of dress. She is, honestly, the only one who chose a gown that wasn't too flashy- or at least, from what I've seen from other brides who come looking for dresses. Such lovely shades of gray…" The seamstress pulled her needle from his coat. "You do know what that means don't you?"

"No, I don't."

"Mm. You'll figure it out when you see her." She snipped a piece of thread with her teeth. "Let me just say you are very lucky, sir."

Garuru sighed. It seemed he just wasn't going to get enough of this. "Thank you."

"This is called a monkey suit, Lieutenant!" Taruru said, jumping out of nowhere. "Isn't this awesome!?"

"…Your pants are falling off," the seamstress said flatly.

"Oh, really? That's a shame." Taruru had to walk back to the angry tailor, pulling up his pants on the way there.

Garuru face palmed, realizing that this Keronian was going to be his best man.

* * *

"Lieutenant, what's your favorite flavor?"

Back at the ship, Garuru looked up at Pururu. She had been writing down some more suspects who she felt needed to be looked into. Glancing at it even briefly he could tell that Stanger was still not on her list despite the fact that he had made it clear that he was still very suspicious of that wedding planner.

Actually, she had been spending an awful lot of time with him…

Garuru felt a little irritated at that for some odd reason.

He shook himself out of it. "What?"

"I said, what's your favorite flavor? In regards to cake, I mean…"

He realized where this was going and kneaded his forehead. "…Chief Medic…"

"It's just a question, Lieutenant," Pururu said soothingly.

"I would appreciate it if we-"

"I know," Pururu smiled at him gently. "I realize that. But it doesn't hurt to take the cake with us to celebrate our capture of the Body Snatcher."

Garuru gave her a look.

She was armed with her own. "Please?"

He set his elbows on the table and let out a breath. "I can't help but feel you're too excited about this whole ordeal, Chief Medic."

Pururu embarrassedly played with one of the flaps of her hat. "I apologize."

Garuru stared at her for a moment, propping his arms up and folding his fingers in on each other.

"…Chocolate."

"What?"

"I like chocolate."

Pururu beamed. "Thank you, Lieutenant. I appreciate it."

She did something neither of them expected.

She kissed him on the cheek.

There was something of a very, very awkward stillness that wavered between them after that.

"O-oh." Garuru watched silently as Pururu's face completely darkened in redness. "I-I'm so sorry! I-it just…"

"It's… fine," the leader said, going back to his work. "Just don't do it again."

("I saw that," Taruru grinned. "I saw alllll of it. I had several pictures of it, actually." "Do you really?" "I did, but then the Lieutenant found them and burned all of them. I should've kept copies but I didn't…")

* * *

Garuru knocked on the door and waited outside patiently. A few loose ends had to be fixed in time for the 'wedding' the day after, and he had to attend another boring meeting. This time, the wedding planner had promised, it would be his last one.

He could hear heavy breaths on the other side, anxious, stammering mutterings. He curiously knocked on it again.

A female voice this ti…

…Pururu?

He turned the knob, but it wouldn't budge.

There was a shriek.

"_Pururu!_" Garuru materialized a gun and shot it at the knob, blasting it off, and kicking the door open.

The whole room was in disarray.

There were ropes lying in a messy heap below them, and…

Garuru's eyes widened, and suddenly dulled with anger.

Pururu had her back to Stanger, who was right behind her, practically pinning her against his desk. Her hands were bound behind her with some of the ropes, her eyes covered with a thick black cloth.

"Get. _Off. _Of her." He could feel several guns materialize around him. "_NOW._"

"I-it isn't what it looks like!" Stanger stuttered, holding his hands up. "P-please believe me! Really, it isn't!"

"_What happened?_"

"We were tied up," Stanger said hastily. "We were t-tied up and blindfolded! I just m-managed to escape!"

"I can't see anything, Lieutenant…" Pururu said quietly.

Garuru immediately ran over, his gun still positioned to Stanger, and tried to untie her with one hand. Little success.

"You might need two, Garuru," Stanger said patiently.

"…Fine." Garuru let her go and then cocked the gun to him, keeping the nozzle toward his direction. "Untie her for me, then."

"You aren't even going to-"

"_Untie her for me._"

Stanger furrowed his brows suspiciously but said nothing else. He quietly did as he was told and removed the blindfold and the ropes from her.

"What happened?" Garuru asked her.

"I-I don't know," Pururu said, shaken. "I-I honestly don't know… One moment I was with Stanger, the next, we're both knocked to the ground and bound. We were here a while before Stanger managed to set himself free."

"You yelled. Why?"

"I didn't know he did," Pururu looked at the bird alien. "He was quiet. When he touched me, I thought he was our attacker." Her face became flushed. "It seems I was mistaken."

Garuru disintegrated the gun and gently took Pururu's hand, inspecting her wrists. They were slightly discolored from the ropes, but other then that, it seemed that she had suffered no wounds.

"How long ago did this happen?" Garuru finally inquired.

"Just twenty minutes before you came here," Stanger said nervously. "Like Pururu said, we were waiting for you and were going over a few things when suddenly somebody just… attacked us. It was strange."

Garuru couldn't believe this. "Let's go, Pururu."

"Yes. It seems we have faced enough excitement for today," Stanger said wearily, eyeing him.

"Indeed," Garuru growled.

The three said no other words when Garuru and Pururu left the room.

* * *

"Lieutenant, he was tied up too," Pururu protested.

"Who was tied up?" Tororo asked lazily, his fingers typing against the keyboard.

"Stanger."

"The guy Lieutenant says is the Body Snatcher?"

"He is _not _the Body Snatcher," Pururu turned to Garuru. "Really! The feathers on his wrists were flat down! Didn't you notice?"

He actually hadn't. At the moment he was too furious at the fact that somebody had tried to hurt one of his platoon members.

"It doesn't make sense," Garuru said coldly. "He was the only one there with you. The door was locked from the inside. And at the moment, he is our prime suspect."

Pururu didn't answer. She looked down.

"Chief Medic-"

"What are we going to do about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Garuru suddenly remembered again, and he sighed. "We're still going to have to go through with it."

Taruru had walked in the moment that sentence started. "I bet it's the penguin."

Pururu and Garuru turned to look at him.

"What?"

"I have my bet on the penguin," Taruru puckered out his lips. "There just seems to be _something _about that penguin. Something... Penguiny."

Garuru looked back at the manila folder that was lying on the table, casually flipping through it.

"Hey, Lieutenant?" Taruru sat lazily on one of the chairs. "I have a question."

"We have already stated that the wedding night is a _surprise, _Private."

"No, no, not that," he shook his head. "I wanted to know if you were going to kiss Pururu."

Apparently Zoruru had been listening in on the conversation too, because at Taruru's inquiry he fell from the ceiling and landed with a loud, clanky _thud! _on the floor.

"Aw, Scraps! Not again!" Tororo complained. He summoned a wrench out of nowhere and got up to inspect the cyborg. Zoruru irritably pushed him away.

"D-don't be coming up with weird ideas, rookie," Zoruru scowled to Taruru. He glanced at Garuru and seemed to do a double take when the Lieutenant looked a bit unsure himself.

"I don't know," Garuru said slowly. "All I'm aware of is the fact that this is merely a ceremony and nothing else; if Pururu and I were to be legally bound by marriage, we would need to sign several forms." He coughed. "If the ceremony does last long enough before we find out who the culprit is, then… yes."

Zoruru seemed stared at him blankly. "…Oh."

"Jealous, Zoruru~?" Taruru teased.

Zoruru shoved the blue frog to the ground and stepped on his face.

* * *

Garuru couldn't sleep that night. He ended up just walking around, up and down the hallways, checking in frequently on the rooms of his platoon members, especially Pururu's, just to make sure they were there in their beds.

The purple frog couldn't help but think _he knows. _The Body Snatcher _knows _who the latest bride and groom really are, and that unnerved him quite a bit. He didn't want to think about what might have happened if he had arrived there earlier and gotten captured as well or decided not to come at all with the thought that Pururu could handle it.

The perpetuator might have simply wanted to subdue them, but the Body Snatcher has had quite a number of disappearances in his records regarding the real identities he had stolen from. Sometimes those people were left broke, other times… gone. To this day nobody knows what he has done with his victims.

He felt a little stupid about it, too, because he _knew _all of this and yet he still let a lone member travel by herself to the agency with the one whom he had suspected of everyone to be the criminal.

Those thoughts swiveled erratically in his head, screaming noisily as they kept him awake.

He didn't even want to think about the ludicrous wedding. Of all things this should not be the thing he should be worried about. But it still bothered him… it must have been from lack of sleep, because he didn't let the anxiety of the fake wedding trouble him until after several hours of walking around. Is this how grooms usually felt like on the day before their ceremony? If that was the case, he swore to himself to never have anything to do with them. Stay single forever, stay at an apartment, yell at the kids that graffitied his walls and have lots of cats… invite Giroro over and have a blast shooting gigantic sweet potato monsters… raise a space llama farm…

It was probably at this point he ran into the wall.

"Garuru?"

There was a still pause.

"…Lieutenant. I apologize. I'm getting too comfortable with you."

Garuru gazed over his shoulder and saw Pururu pad toward him, her eyes large and concerned in the dim light.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm tired."

"Then why aren't you asleep in bed right now?"

"I can't." Garuru sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I have a lot on my mind right now."

Pururu quietly took his hand and pulled him over to some of the chairs that were conveniently a few feet away, making him sit down. She settled right beside him.

"Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Chief Medic?"

"Don't worry about us. We can handle ourselves."

Garuru had the urge to point out what his brain had been currently pulsing painfully on, and that was the fact that she herself had just gotten victimized. That same urge was restrained by the warm consolation from the simple words of the Chief Medic, and the gentle touch of her hand against his.

"Really. We can handle it. You can trust us, can't you?"

Garuru held his breath slightly, releasing it in a small gust.

"Very well."

"I'm going to make you some warm milk," Pururu assured him. "I'll put some medicine in it too so it'll help you sleep." She patted his hand and stood up, going over to the kitchen to do what she had said.

When she had come back with the small mug in hand, Garuru had fallen asleep with his head against his arms on the table.

* * *

Whatever experience drove him to staying away from coffee was not as strong as waking up with a desire to sleep more.

The whole platoon had to wake up for the rehearsal in the morning. Pururu's plan was to originally soothingly pull everyone out of their bed but Garuru was (extra) grumpy that morning. Whoever stayed on their mattress was yanked from their feet to the floor, the blankets and pillows topped over their heads and peeking out only to catch the sight of an irritated Lieutenant stomping out of their room.

Garuru had about three cups of coffee that morning, and apparently was still going at it.

He didn't talk to Stanger at the rehearsal, nor did Stanger attempt any talk with him, which was unusual in Pururu's opinion. The bird was typically very social and was always curious about the lives of this new to-be-wed couple, but at the time, he wasn't.

He didn't even tease them about 'the wedding night'.

He talked to Pururu but would walk away when Garuru came up to them.

Pururu confronted Garuru.

"Did something happen?"

"…Yesterday."

"Did you… say something to him?"

Garuru grunted and took a sip from his coffee mug. "The last time I spoke to him was at that room, in that incident."

"Stanger said that the Poyon was going to try to get to the bottom of it." Pururu gazed around the small arena where their wedding was going to take place. "I… hope it's not too conspicuous if I told them about the undercover work and invited to this…?"

"No. Perfect, in fact. It saves us…" Garuru silenced himself and took another drink from his cup.

Stanger had approached them. He turned only to Pururu. "Hi! We're going to start now."

"Okay," Pururu looked at Garuru and held his hand, a small action that was beginning to feel oddly familiar then. "Let's go."

Everyone didn't have to actually dress up for this small practice routine, but Zoruru had no choice in the matter. Heavily clothed in the traditional garments of the Uewuk priest, he stood at the end, having to be guided by Tororo because he couldn't see a frogging thing.

They had to do the rehearsal several times, because each time in the middle Stanger would notice something wrong. Taruru was standing in the wrong place, Tororo accidentally stepping on the 'priest's' foot, a doughnut falling from the ceiling somewhere…

Stanger seemed more than a little stressed about everything. From time to time he would interrupt the rehearsal or make it pause while he ran off and fiddled with some decoration that seemed like it was in total disrepair to him when in reality it was just fine, or argue with another assistant to fix the flowers that didn't go with the color scheme of the original plan of the wedding.

Garuru just wanted it to be over with.

Petey nodded and wrote some things down in his clipboard. "This marriage isn't going to last long."

Stanger shook his head at his assistants lack of encouragement. "You're thinking too negatively, Petey."

"But it's only the truth… you know that."

"I am never wrong."

"Can we stop now? I'm hungry!" Tororo cried out.

"Fine, fine," Stanger said, nibbling at the end of his pen. "You may find some refreshment. I need to go hyperventilate somewhere."

* * *

The time had finally come. _Took about four thousand tries, _but the 'actual' wedding had finally begun.

With only a collection of the entire crew from the wedding planner's organization (they didn't want to miss a single possible culprit), the officers, and of course Inabuyin, the small hall began to play the wedding march.

Garuru stood at the end of the aisle, eyes scrutinizing the crowd of people- Inabuyin and Stanger in particular.

The poor man had no idea what he was in for.

Taruru nudged him with an elbow, and Garuru irritably glanced at him. The light blue frog's eyes flickered over to the opposite direction of the aisle, cocking his head slightly.

Garuru had assumed that he was talking about a suspect, but when he had turned to see what Taruru was gesturing at, he was… a little awestruck.

Pururu looked very lovely, wearing the dress with different shades of gray. It was just as the seamstress had said- plain, but it still made her look… very, very lovely.

Garuru experienced a strange sensation that moment- his heart beat just a little faster.

("I think he was blushing, too," Taruru said with a grin. The girls were smiling at him. "…What?" Garuru asked, blinking at them confusedly. He looked up at me. "Did… I do something wrong?" "...I... don't know, Lieutenant..." I replied. Pururu simply shook her head. "He had a cold the next day. Don't be making assumptions.")

They weren't allowed to speak at all. He simply took a quiet step out of the way and let her in with him.

Zoruru, as much as he sounded like he just wanted to get out of there, assumed his role as the priest and began the ceremonial speech that Garuru had no interest in at the moment.

It was all a blur, his main motivation listening to the crowd behind him. Poyon yawned. Inabuyin playing with a piece of paper someone had given to him a few minutes before the music started, Stanger watching the two Keronians carefully.

"…Garuru?"

The Lieutenant blinked out of it and stared at the entirely covered-up Zoruru.

"Yes?"

"Will you take Pururu to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Garuru could tell that it had killed him from embarrassment to say every single word, and that Taruru and Tororo were never going to let him live it down.

The purple Keronian forgot the words.

"Garu-?"

"….Yes?"

Their was a small wave of laughter behind him. It took all his will power not to hit himself with the palm of his hand.

"Uh… great," Zoruru said, improvising slightly. "You may now… kiss the bride?"

Kiss the bride?

….Oh, that's right.

Pururu's face was thinly concealed with a pretty white veil, held on by a small tiara that sat on her head. He cautiously and unsurely reached out and pulled it away from her face, dropping it over and around her head.

She was looking nervous now, biting her lower lip.

He just stood there for a moment, not sure what to do. Uneasily touching her cheek, he neared her face.

"Excuse me… excuse me, sorry…"

Garuru backed away from her and looked out toward the on-lookers.

Inabuyin was hastily standing up and carefully making his way through the audience to leave. Stanger was watching the wealthy alien walk away, and immediately after he chased after him.

Garuru dashed off after them, not bothering to explain to the gasping crowd. Zoruru tore off the garments and followed after Garuru, Taruru, Pururu, and Tororo, who was still, funny enough, carrying the rings with him.

"_Stanger!_" Garuru snapped.

Stanger glanced over his shoulder, glared, and turned a corner, losing contact from the platoon for a while. Garuru stopped at the edge and panted slightly, gazing at the three different hallways. They could just barely hear the distant pitter-patter of the footsteps from a ways off.

"We're going to have to split up," Garuru muttered.

"I'll go with you," Pururu said, taking off the veil and tossing it to the side.

"Very well." Garuru looked at the others. "Zoruru, take Tororo with you. Taruru, you'll have to be on your own. Please be careful."

"Roger!"

* * *

Garuru and Pururu had chosen the right hallway. They could hear the heavy breaths emitted from the bird-like creature that had stormed out of the hall room after Inabuyin.

Where did he go, anyway?

Garuru assumed that Inabuyin was lured out somehow, and Stanger was right at his heel.

Fortunately they would be caught.

"_Gyah! _Let go of me!"

"_Freeze!_"

Garuru and Pururu stopped, their chests rising and falling slightly, at the bird that was now holding a gun.

…At Petey the Penguin.

The pessimistic assistant was currently holding a weapon at Inabuyin's neck, the blade sharp at its tip.

The penguin shook its head. "I should have known you three had _some _part with the coppers. Pfft. I should have been more careful."

|"You should have," Stanger said with a grin. "In the name of the IAR, you're under arrest!"

"Oh? And how will that be when I have _this?_" Petey mockingly waved the knife on top of the poor guy's head.

Stanger swallowed nervously, clicking the gun carefully.

Garuru materialized a rifle.

"If I were you, I'd let him go," Garuru said chillingly. "Or else I'll shoot. _And I never miss_."

"MYUAHAHAHAHA! YOU WILL NEVER GET ME!" He ducked his head behind Inabuyin. "IF YOU TRY TO SHOOT ME YOU'LL HAVE TO SHOOT HIM FIRST!"

"Please don't shoot me!" Inabuyin whined. "I'm too pretty to die!"

Garuru gave him a look, putting his gun down slightly. "That was inappropriate."

"Yeah, I know. But I've always wanted to say that."

"Move your head, please."

"Will do~"

A bullet rang in the air, and the penguin was no more.

….Nah, Garuru just shot him with a tranquilizer. Stabilized him for a while.

Garuru blew the smoke off his nozzle and disintegrated its matter.

Pururu ran over to check on Petey, making sure he wasn't too dead or anything.

The purple frog walked over to Stanger and folded his arms. "Intergalactic Agency of Reconnaissance, mm?"

"It's a hobby," Stanger said with a humble shrug.

"Is this your going undercover too?"

"Nah. I'm actually a wedding planner, if you didn't get from my freaking out earlier and all."

Garuru shook his head, unable to believe what just happened. "I will have to apologize for my behavior, then. I had assumed that you were the Body Snatcher."

"I had assumed you were in _cahoots _with the Body Snatcher," Stanger admitted. "But I've got to hand it to you. Using your wedding to try to lure this guy over here to catch a bad guy…"

Inabuyin snapped his attention to Garuru. "_What?!_"

"It wasn't real," Pururu said embarrassedly. "I'm sorry."

"It wasn't?" Stanger and Inabuyin repeated.

"No. We were going undercover," Garuru revealed, folding his arms. "We felt it would be only necessary to in order to be discreet."

"Wow. Nice plan," Stanger said with a nod.

"Y-… you _used _me as some sort of _decoy?_" Inabuyin blinked at him, aghast. "Please tell me you're joking?"

Garuru glanced at Pururu, who smiled weakly.

"_I COULD HAVE GOTTEN KILLED!_"

"It's payback for the mistletoe incident in sector seven," Garuru pointed out. "You owe me."

Inabuyin's shoulders drooped. "Yeah, okay, I guess we're even now."

"Oh, not quite."

"It was _one time, _Garuru!"

"You are under arrest!" Poyon said to the comatose penguin, coming out of nowhere. "For identity theft, kidnapping, arson, attempted murder on more than multiple occasions, and stealing kittens out of old people's homes, you will be put away for a very, very long time!"

"They were gon' die anyway…" Petey mumbled in his sleep.

Poyon shook her head. "Disgusting." She turned to Garuru, Pururu, and Stanger. "Good work, officers! I'll take this garbage back with me."

"Thank you," Pururu said, relieved. She brushed the dirt off her dress and frowned slightly. "I'm going to have to give this back to you now, right?"

Stanger shrugged. "We don't have lots of Keronians come across our wedding planning industry. You can have it."

"R-really?"

"Oh, yeah. I don't think we could get anyone to wear a dress as small as yours."

Pururu beamed at Garuru, who couldn't help but slightly smile back. He resumed his usual apathetic expression and glanced up at Stanger when the bird cleared his throat to direct his attention to him.

"So. Here's my card."

Garuru looked at it curiously. "What is this for?"

"When you decide to change your mind and come back and marry her for real."

Pururu blushed heavily again.

"That's not going to happen," Garuru said dryly, handing it back to him.

"You keep it. Just in case, you know?" Stanger winked at the two of them. "Let's go eat some wedding cake. I'm starving."

* * *

"So the 'inside information' was Stanger…" I said, remembering what Garuru had noted in the beginning.

"Yes. Had I known he was an agent of the IAR, it would have definitely made things a lot simpler for us," Garuru sighed. "Less time planning the wedding and more time looking for the suspect."

"And it was the penguin all along," Taruru said with a nod. "I told you."

"I thought you guys were going to get married for real," Ruby said to Pururu, hugging her pillow. Kitty nodded, agreeing.

Pururu provided a weak laugh. "No. Far from that, actually…"

Zoruru huffed slightly. "I don't think I would have been able to live with it. And I can't imagine the Lieutenant being that much of a family guy, either."

"Do you think they would have had a baby?" Taruru asked, his face lighting up at the idea. "I like babies!"

Zoruru grimaced at him.

The idea! Garuru as a dad? Ha. That'll be the day…

"Hey Johnny?"

"Yeah, Ru-" A pillow collided with my face.

"_Pu-pu-pu-pu!_" Tororo pointed at me, grabbing his stomach and falling on the ground.

I stared at the racetrack girl in awe. She picked up another pillow and grinned.

"Ruby…" I said slowly, holding my hands up. "I don't hit gi-" It smacked me against the face again.

"Is this going to be one of those things where everyone picks on one guy?" Taruru giggled. "Because I think I have a feeling who the guy is going to be."

I pushed the pillow away from me. "I said I don't hit gi-"

Stella smacked me with one the back of the head. I looked over my shoulder. "Are you trying to provoke me?"

"Maybe~" Stella giggled. Before I could say another word, she dropped it on my face.

"_Okay, that's it!_" I snatched the pillow she had thrown at me. She let out a shriek and ran off.

"PILLOW FIGHT!" Taruru yelled, grabbing a random pillow and throwing it to Rita.

"Hey!"

"It's a pillow war, Lieutenant," Zoruru said blandly. "_Oof!_" Stella had thrown a pillow at him, for, you know- good will.

"Yes. I know that." Garuru casually moved his head out of the way of an oncoming pillow. "I'm going to sleep."

* * *

**I felt bad about not updating anything for over a week.**

**Again, I swear the length of this thing was completely unprecedented. Or unpredicted. IT WAS UNPLANNED. Well, the story _was _planned, which is what contributed to the stupid length...**

**I'm so sorry if it felt rushed. I'll fix it when I have the time... **

**And I'm sorry for the complete lack of Zoruru, Taruru, and Tororo. I promise future chapters will involve them more. Ugh.**

**Well. The only good news is that the next chapter won't take that long, because it's a simulation, and it's already written~ **

**But I hope you enjoyed.**


	38. Everything For You

**Day Thirty-Four, Word Thirty-Four: Everything For You**

_**As Told by KITTY**_

* * *

Sometimes there's another person living inside of us.

Wearing our skin and controlling our actions.

But still this is not us.

Whatever they do, is not us, it is another them.

The person who killed you all wasn't me. It was another_me_.

* * *

Rita, Taruru, Tororo and I entered Johnny's house.

The slumber party was lots of fun, but now we were meeting together for a completly different thing, something most of our party dreaed.

For a moment we sat in silence as we all stared at each other waiting for Kululu's simulation to come down to us. For a bunch of people who had spent the night together, we were sure awkward. I decided to break the silence.

"I brought cookies, for us to eat in the meantime!" I smiled with a plate of cookies.

"I know. I already took one." Stella smiled, chomping on a cookie that seemed larger than the rest.

That cookie looked familiar….

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! THE COMMANDER!" Tororo screamed, pointing at Stella accusingly, "You murderer! You're almost as bad as the old man." He accused. He flailed his arms wildly. "KITTY! Destroy her for me!" he ordered, too lazy to do so himself.

I quickly grabbed a cookie from the tray while Tororo wasn't looking. I put it on the pedestal, we had forced Rita to haul over.

"Don't worry, Tororo. The commander is safe." I lied, pointing to the pedestal. Stella just sort of looked at us both in confusion. Tororo let out a sigh of relief. I made a face at Stella. She was indeed a murderer. Later, I'd ask if the commander was yummy.

"What just happened?" Stella asked innocently. I opened my mouth to answer her, just as a floating screen flew out of nowhere.

"Ku, ku, ku! Guess who's here with the new simulation?" Kululu asked.

"George Washington?" Rita asked. Kululu seemed annoyed.

"No. Me!" He answered, "Clickie-poo!" Before we could say anything for ourselves we were all whisked, it was as if we were falling down the hole of Alice in wonderland.

When we all finally straightened ourselves out, we found ourselves all together in a small room.

"Great, another small room." Taruru muttered.

The screen with Kululu's face on it appeared in front of us.

"Ku, ku, ku…You may be wondering what this specific game is that I've put you in." Kululu laughed.

Johnny looked down paranoid as if he was checking for an outfit change. I laughed on the inside. We weren't magical girls or anything so obviously we didn't go through a million outfit changes. Our clothes remained the same.

"Guess who was seeing you guys freak out from a horror movie?" Kululu asked, eyeing Johnny and Pururu specifically. Pururu blushed.

"Hmmm….Ronald McDonald?" Rita asked. Kululu seemed irritated again.

"No! Me, yet again, you idiot." Kululu pointed out. Rita giggled like an idiot. "Anyway, I, being the brilliant person I am, decided to put your group in a horror simulation. Let's see who survives out of all of you, because you all have minimal HP. Have fun!" Kululu blinked away.

Pururu seemed very frightened and grabbed onto Garuru's arm.

"Don't worry, chief medic. We're in the military and deal with things like this all the time. Also, we have our weapons…." The walls slowly started slinking down as Garuru comforted her.

I looked at Johnny who had turned pale white. Tororo was inching towards the wall.

"Guys…" Ruby whispered, I felt something breathing on my neck. I froze. "Run." She ordered.

I wheeled around to see what was behind me.

A giant, blue, troll like monster was breathing directly on my neck. His jaw was huge, scattered with glittering white teeth. His forehead curled into a disfigured shape. His eyes were large, black and hungry.

He smiled at me.

Jump scare.

I jumped up, bolted barreling through Garuru and Pururu. I knocked them over like pins.

"Don't worry, I have my guns…" Garuru reached forward to draw a weapon from interdimensional transport. Nothing came.

"Ku, ku, ku….I took away all your weapons to make this game a little fairer. Quite nice, aren't I?" Kululu smiled, he turned off the screen.

"DARN YOU, KULULU!" Zoruru screamed, realizing he suddenly only had one arm. Zoruru had to forget about his anger to remind himself there was a monster.

"Guys, stick together! Splitting up is the number 1 mistake to end in death in a horror game!" Ruby told everyone, remaining sensible. Johnny, ran towards Ruby, shivering a bit. Garuru dragged Pururu with him as well.

The monster was currently chasing after Zoruru who ran the opposite direction as the rest of us.

Stella ran to the left of everyone just to be a troll. That or she was frightened and fleeing to hide. I'm going with the troll idea.

Rita skipped around, idiotically. I'm surprised she wasn't eaten yet. I guess it was cuz Zoruru was distracting the monster.

Taruru stayed by Rita's side and us, Zoruru, Stella, Rita and Taruru, split up. I carried Tororo most of the way of fleeing because Tororo was being a lazy princess.

We managed to run through a couple hallways, trying to distance ourselves from the monster.

"There's a room to our left." Garuru noticed with his excellent eyesight. Johnny managed to run forward and open it. We all ran inside and barred the door shut.

Sitting down we stayed silent trying to listen to see if the monster was still chasing us. I wondered if my sister was safe. Hopefully, since Taruru was in the military, he would keep her protected.

"I think it's gone for the moment." Garuru whispered to us. Pururu sighed, relieved.

"We're in quite a bit of trouble without any equipment." Tororo realized. Ruby was the one to speak up, having looked around the room a bit while we were all listening.

"Maybe there's something we can use as weapons in here?" She suggested pointing to the boxes. Johnny went up to move the boxes aside so we could reach the lower ones. Inside was nothing, all though when Pururu reached in she brought out something that we had not seen. It must have been part of the game programming to give us an item of use for each of our characters.

"All I found are some band-aids…" Pururu looked disappointed for a moment. Johnny seemed to have a bit more luck.

"I found a kitchen knife. Don't know how much good this will do, but at least it's something. It's also light-weight, so I'll be able to run easier." Johnny seemed to be trying to smile but very horrified at the aspects of the game and the monster. He looked like he just wanted to dart out.

"What did you find, Garuru?" Ruby asked, holding a bat. At least she got something useful…

"A pistol….With a single bullet. I'll have to be careful on what I use it on." Garuru frowned.

"Better than me, I got a key. Pu, pu, pu. Why do I always get useless junk?" Tororo answered.

"Keys are very useful in finishing puzzles in horror games. I'm guessing the puzzle here is an escape sort of game." I guessed. I had played a game very similar to this one. It was called Ao Onni, not my most favorite of games, but still the plot and premise was pretty straight out. I wonder if the demon would eat dead companions and take their faces just like in Ao onni…

"Well, I got an ax. I guess you could call me, ax crazy?" I asked swinging around my ax wildly.

Tororo backed away.

"So the premise of this game is to escape the place we're in without dying?" Garuru asked, "Seems easy enough, all we have to do is find some windows or barrel through the walls…" As if on cue of tempting fate, the old wallpaper of the wall gave out and a decaying corpse with no torso or legs crawled out.

"AHHH!" Pururu screamed. Johnny jumped up and covered his mouth. Tororo seemed to have frozen and Garuru was glaring as if he could kill the beast with an angry look.

Ruby swung her bat high and opened up the door by hitting downwards.

"Guys!" She motioned. We all followed her, jumping through the hole of the door and running.

As we ran through the hallway I saw a door open out of the corner of my eye. It was behind us so there was no real use going to it. I made a mental note to stop to it later.

"Ku, ku, ku. Rita Delenogan. Game over." Kululu's voice over a loudspeaker sounded.

We all stopped at the end of the hall, not seeing the corpse in sight.

"Seems the pekoponian died." Garuru commented.

"Sis…" I looked down worried about her. I hoped she didn't die too gruesomely. What if something happened and she was traumatized by this game? What it a monster ate her or something slowly and painfully?

"Well that must suck for you. Your sister's dead. Pu, pu, pu." Tororo laughed at my pain.

"I hope it wasn't too hard for her…" I wished. Tororo seemed not to notice how sad this was making me. Johnny just kind of stood there awkwardly looking to the side to see if anything was following us.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad. It's just a game after all." Ruby comforted me, giving a small hug around my shoulders. I hugged her back glad to have the support. At least someone was nice and comforting about this. I mentally promised myself to bake some cookies for Ruby and stick some needles in Tororo's body while he slept.

"Where do you guys want to head?" Pururu asked, seeing a couple of options from where we were at.

"Not the direction the monster came from." Johnny suggested. Pururu seconded it.

"The direction the monster came from. I saw an open door back there that we should check out." Garuru suggested. I raised my hand seconding the motion.

"Guys, let's do anything, but please…Don't split up. Stay with your buddy and you have a better chance to survive…" Ruby gave us her words of wisdom.

"Yeah, and if worse comes to worse, you can trip your buddy and use them as a meat shield. Pu, pu, pu" Tororo laughed.

"Can I be Ruby's buddy instead of Tororo? I'm a bit worried about that line…" I trailed off.

"I don't care who sticks with who." Garuru shrugged. Pururu wrapped an arm around Garuru's. Johnny did the same. It almost looked as if Garuru was having a scared little harem of Pururu…And Johnny? Weird.

"Leave me all alone? Great." Tororo sighed. A creaking noise was above our heads. Perhaps someone was walking? Tororo darted forward to my leg.

I pat his head. He was just a little kid after all.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you. I promise, no matter what." I whispered. It turned out that promise would get me to more places then I knew.

"Stop clinging to me, you dork." Tororo told me even though he was the one to cling. Johnny tried not to giggle.

"Well, there was a sound coming from upstairs…How about we head in that direction?" Garuru suggested. Nobody went against Garuru's orders. We all just nodded briskly. Even Johnny. I guess he hoped that Stella was up there.

We slowly, as to not draw attention walked in the direction we hoped stairs were in. Soon enough, we found an old staircase.

"Who wants to go first?" Johnny jokingly asked. As if disgusted by Johnny's lack of courage, Garuru sighed and easily bounded up the stairs.

Pururu carefully ran after him, unfortunately her foot hit a rather sour part of the stairs. The wood gave out. She let out a muffled squeak as she fell.

Ruby, and Garuru both darted forward to catch her.

Garuru got her first, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer to him, wrapping her in his arms. How adorable!

"Be more careful, chief medic." He scolded.

"Y-yes…" She blushed, her face still in his chest. I have the feeling she just died and went to heaven.

Ruby sighed and due to her largeness easily jumped past the hole Pururu had created. Johnny followed her.

"Carry me! I can't jump that much. Being in my platoon of Kululu hatred you must follow my orders." Tororo ordered. I sighed and put him on my back piggy back style. He seemed happy enough to not have to walk. The little tubby.

A door stood at the end of the stairs leading to the next floor.

"It's locked…" Garuru tried the knob.

"Let me try breaking it down." Ruby tried to hit the door with her bat. Nothing happened. "Your turn." She turned to me, who had the only other weapon which could tear down wood.

"You think I can lift this ax above my shoulders? You've got to be joking." I laughed, "I'm a weakling." I told her.

"So you're useless basically." Tororo pointed out.

"Who's getting the ride from me?" I asked irritated. Tororo shut up.

"So it's locked. A pity, I assumed the private or the lance corporal was up there." Garuru frowned.

"Perhaps there's a key somewhere that can open the door?" Johnny suggested. I let Tororo down to try his key. There was no such luck.

"I'm sure it will open a different door." I reassured him with a low growl. Funny, I wasn't the one who growled.

Our group turned around to see a wolf like monster, it had us cornered against the door.

Garuru looked at it and did the smart thing. He jumped off the balcony with Pururu in his arms. What a charmer.

I looked at Johnny and Ruby, knowing that none of us had superhuman jumping abilities.

I tapped Johnny on the back wondering what his idea was for how to escape.

He ran through the monster, well more like past and less like running, more like tumbling. I must have really scared him.

"AUGH!" He ran off like a madman, flailing his arms wildly.

We kind of watched as he ran. Just sort of amused and wondering if we should help.

The monster managed to notice him over us and gave chase.

"Should we help?" Ruby asked, stepping down the stairs.

"Nah, he could use the training." Garuru smirked, glad Johnny was being tortured.

Yet again, nobody went against Garuru's wishes.

"Maybe the door that we passed that was open has the key to the upstairs?" Pururu suggested. Garuru nodded, using Johnny as a distraction to sneak past the monster with the group and run through the hall and back to the room that was a distance away.

We entered it, silently nobody speaking of how we had just sacrificed Johnny.

"I should go back to help him…" Ruby whispered idly to herself as we walked into the room.

"Wouldn't do any good. He's probably dead now anyway. Pu, pu, pu. That or he's alive. He was running pretty darn fast after all and dodging rather well." Tororo pointed out. Ruby seemed to still be in distress.

"Taruru?" Pururu seemed to be the only one who noticed the other person in our room.

I looked to the ground to where Taruru was crouching, he was holding Rita's hand as she lay on the ground, obviously dead.

"Oh no…The monster got her…" Pururu whispered sadly, putting her hands on her mouth in shock.

"No…" Taruru's eyes started to water, "She tripped on her item….Soap… SHE DIED FROM TRIPPING!" He sobbed at the stupidity.

"So her item was soap?" Garuru asked, "Darn, uselessness. What do you have Private?" He asked.

"A pizza….Kululu said because it was like my face…" Taruru seemed distant again at the sad awful insult.

"Give that to me!" Tororo hoped off of my back and gobbled up the pizza, "The old man makes awful digital pizza. Yuck." He stuck out a tongue. Taruru looked in his hands realizing he had nothing now as a weapon or item.

"You stole my item!" He accused Tororo.

"It wasn't very useful anyway." Tororo told him, "Here, you can have this key in return…." He handed Taruru the key.

"Tororo, that might be important…What if Taruru loses it?" I asked. I didn't particularly like Taruru.

"Well too darn bad." Tororo told me.

"Cool! A key!" Taruru played with it by tossing it up in the air, over and over again. I glared at Tororo who might have thrown our future away.

"Guys…I think something." Ruby beckoned us, forward to where a safe was in the wall. It required a word as the password.

The question was, the ugliest, stupidest, and worst frog around?

"Try writing, Kululu. Pu, pu, pu." Tororo suggested.

"Try Tororo." I suggested, knowing Kululu didn't like Tororo very much. Needless to say, my suggestion worked.

"Pu, pu, pu. That's not true. The old man just wants that to be true." Tororo pretended. Ruby didn't answer him and instead reached into the open safe to get the key that was shaped like the lock for the upstairs.

"Great, now all we have to do is go upst-…" Taruru was cut off as a sickeningly familiar growling sound was heard. As if coming out of the wall the purple-ish jaw like beast appeared before us. There was only one doorway out and the monster would easily be able to follow us.

"Guys…" Ruby ran her fingers through her hair, "Pururu….Please be safe…" She took her bat and ran forward towards the monster. She had no chance. The monster opened it's mouth and took a big bite out of Ruby. "Run." Was her last word.

All except Garuru screamed, and we all ran through the door as the monster devoured Ruby.

Forgetting to stay together we all ran in opposite directions. Garuru dragging a sobbing Pururu, Tororo in whatever direction he was going in and Taruru with me.

"Game over for Ruby Snow." Kululu's voice told us.

I recalled, Ruby's kind words to me about my sister and how she had been bitten right in front of me. I was in the process of running just as I collapsed on the ground.

* * *

"Ku, ku, ku…Kitty Delenogan 1 point." Kululu's voice said over a speaker.

"Kitty… Kitty? You all right?" Stella's voice shook me awake. I drowsily opened my eyes to see Stella right over me.

"Geez, I was worried for a second. I found Taruru's body lying outside the room and I thought for sure you had a game over. But that frog's voice didn't say that you had died so I checked your pulse." Stella explained, rambling.

"What happened?" I asked.

"That's what I was hoping to ask you, I've been hiding in a wardrobe for the last hour and finally got out after Zoruru coaxed me out." Stella held a hanger heroically as if it was her greatest weapon.

"Taruru's dead?" I asked confused.

"Yeah. He was outside your room, so I thought you would know what happened to him." Stella gave me a funny look. "You okay?"

"Yeah…But I know nothing about what happened with Taruru! We were running together and suddenly, poof! Blackness." I explained. She looked a bit worried, "Anyway, where's Zoruru?"

"Looking for Tororo. He didn't want the little tadpole to be in any trouble. I suspect they're friends or something." Stella smiled.

"Tororo…We've got to find the others! I told him I'd keep him safe." I frantically got up. Stella nodded.

"I'm really worried about if Johnny's all right. He hates horror games." Stella nodded. I decided not to tell Stella we had used Johnny as live bait. Don't want her to hate me for any unnecessary reason after all.

The two of us left the room, seeing the hallway full of doors. We decided to open every single one. Some of which were just ones that lead to nothing but another wall.

"Kitty! Stella!" Tororo's voice called to us after a while. He and Zoruru came running over to us.

"We thought we'd never find you." Tororo huffed tiredly.

"Speak for yourself." Zoruru scoffed.

"Pu, pu, pu. Why'd you abandon me like that? I was all alone, running for my life!" Tororo cried, "I eventually just hid for it." He told me.

"Sorry…I kind of just ran for it too." I rubbed my head embarrassedly. "Seen Garuru or Pururu?"

"They're probably smooching up or something. Pu, pu, pu." Tororo joked.

"T-the commander and chief medic wouldn't do that!" Zoruru denied. Stella laughed at the imagery and Zoruru's obvious annoyance at the idea.

Slow footsteps approached us from behind.

"Tch…Seems are conversation is out of time….It's time to run…" Zoruru decided, I was about to pick up Tororo to help him run, but Zoruru snatched his hand away first. "You'll run faster this way, if I drag you." He explained to Tororo.

"Good idea. Pu, pu, pu. You'll run much faster than Kitty." Tororo liked having better survival chances. A strange pit of annoyance was in my stomach. One for being insulted and the other, because I had been the one tasked with protecting Tororo. Not Zoruru. Tororo was kind of like my baby, my replacement for my sister. Not Zoruru's baby.

No point in getting angry over it right now. Stella, Zoruru, Tororo and I ran. We ran fast.

"Chief medic! This way!" Garuru's voice called, his voice slowly got closer and closer to our's.

I saw Garuru, dragging Pururu closer, being closely followed by the werewolf like monster that had chased Johnny.

Our monster was also slowly getting closer.

Garuru and Pururu whizzed towards us and we stopped in the middle of the hallway, as both monsters approached us.

"What do we do?" Stella asked.

"I have an idea, but you guys will have to not get in my way. I assume your group is being followed as well?" Garuru asked

"Yeah." Zoruru answered.

"All right, then lance corporal, I need you to push the werewolf a little ahead of us." Garuru requested, "Now everyone stand still."

Zoruru darted forward and with quick skills he did as he was told. Garuru took his pistol with the single bullet and shot pointing at the werewolf. With his expert aim the bullet went into the monster, through it and hit our monster.

"Lieutenant Garuru, 2 points. Ku, ku, ku. You're in the lead." Kululu's voice told us.

"Points? What are points for?" Stella asked as we all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Perhaps one of the aims of this game is not only to survive, but to kill as well. Seems more of a real life scenario from having a way to kill these monsters." Garuru suggested. "Buck private Tororo, do you have the key we got from that safe?" Garuru asked

Tororo nodded, pulling out the key.

"I would assume heading upstairs would be the wisest choice then." Garuru decided. We all nodded and followed him. Pururu still clinging to his arm.

The stairs weren't that far away. Garuru didn't seem the least worried about Johnny's condition, he didn't even try to look for him.

"All right. Pekoponians first." He ordered handing us the key since we could reach the doorknob. Stella and I walked up the stairs jumping over the hole. Tororo and Zoruru were next, Zoruru helping Tororo a bit with the hole.

The last was Garuru and Pururu. Pururu stepped right next to the hole she had previously created.

It broke again and she began to fall.

"Pururu!" Garuru seemed to act on impossible and pushed her forward, falling into the hole himself and losing his balance.

All we heard was a snapping sound after that.

"Lieutenant Garuru, game over." Kululu told us. Pururu was shocked.

"GARURU!" She screamed, reaching forward and crying. Zoruru pulled her away from the hole.

"It's just a game. No big deal. Pu, pu, pu." Tororo told her to comfort her.

"Yeah, but we feel everything that happens to us." I pointed out. Pururu started crying again.

Stella awkwardly took the female keronian in her arms as her and I opened the door to the upstairs.

"Grrr…" A growling sound was heard at the bottom of the stairs. Yet again, mourning someone death we all ran in opposite directions.

Yet again leaving Tororo in the dust accidentally.

For some reason my body followed Zoruru as he ran, trying to keep up with Stella.

I absentmindedly pushed him into a different direction from the girl. He lost his balance and hopped skipped into another room.

I followed.

I wonder why my hand was grasping around my ax?

* * *

My eyes blinked open in a completely different part of the simulation then I was previously. It was as if I blinked and teleported to someplace new.

Weird. I have the power of teleportation.

"Kitty Delenogan 2 points." Kululu's voice went over speaker yet again.

I wandered around for a little bit, tip-toeing everywhere looking for someone I recognized.

"Hello! Anyone here?" I called to no one in particular.

"Kitty? Is that you?" Stella's voice answered me. I ran forward to meet her voice. It was coming through a wall with a small hole.

"Yeah, it's me." I called, "There's a wall between us and I can't find a way to get through."

"Maybe you should backtrack. Is Tororo with you?" Stella asked

"No." I answered.

"What about Johnny?" Pururu asked

"Not him either. Is Zoruru with you guys?" I asked. Stella seemed silent for a moment.

"There was a game over for him. He's dead." She told me.

"Well, darn it." I cursed, looking through the peeky hole. Pururu seemed to notice something about my face. She slid a Band-Aid through the hole.

"You have a cut, Kitty, here you go." She handed to me.

I absent-mindedly touched my face. Funny, I don't remember getting cut….

"Kitty, how about on your side you look for Johnny and Tororo? Me and Pururu will do the same." Stella suggested.

"All right." I nodded in agreement.

I backed away from the wall and frantically started searching for Johnny and Tororo. Hopefully they would be all right.

A few rooms later I managed to see Johnny, wandering around absentmindedly.

"Kitty! You're still here!" He rushed forward happy to see a friendly face, "I heard Garuru got a game over. How did he die?" Johnny asked

"He fell through a hole saving Pururu." I answered shrugging. Johnny looked dumbstruck.

"He saved someone?" He asked, he seemed to be having trouble processing this.

"Seen Tororo?" I asked.

"No…" Johnny shook his head, "Is the little guy all right? I mean, I remember the last simulation he was really frightened, and came to me for help…"

Oh no, no, no…Why's the black feeling encircling now?

I tried to stay awake, I really did.

"Tororo needs your help? That's my duty…I have to…protect…We're friends…He's a little kid…" I slipped away.

* * *

I awoke strangely leaving the room I was in with Johnny.

"Kitty Delenogan 3 points." Kululu's voice said again.

"Huh?" I raised my hand confused and trying to rub my eyes. Oddly enough my hand was wrapped around my ax which seemed slightly bloody.

Strange, I never remembered using my ax.

"Kitty! That's where you've been!" Stella and Pururu ran to join me as I dazedly stood there.

"We encountered the monster again." Pururu smiled.

"And Johnny got a game over." Stella frowned, "Poor guy."

"What a pity." A strange voice told us from behind us. We whirled around to see who was speaking.

A fox stood in front of us, an anthropomorphic fox.

"Who are you?" I asked. None of us recognized the strange creature.

"That doesn't matter. But who you are does. Do you all know who you are?" The fox asked

"Why of course. I'm Stella." Stella frowned.

"Hmmm…Seems I'm late for my supper…I'll be going now. Look out for your teammates, there seems to be something, an 11th player, you could say I guess, going around getting them." The fox disappeared as swiftly as it spoke.

"Maybe soap is another player!" I realized

"We shouldn't listen to that thing. It seemed weird. Only ten of us are playing." Stella dismissed the fox. "I have a hunch where Tororo is hiding, follow me." Stella beckoned us forward.

We followed her down the stairs to a wardrobe at the very end of the hall, it was next to a door that looked like a big large door. Possibly the front door.

"Can you coax him into opening it?" Stella asked Pururu.

"Tororo…You in there?" Pururu asked

"Pu, pu, pu…Go away. I like it in here." Tororo's voice answered us.

"Look, we've all had a hard time, but we need you out here with us." Pururu cooed.

"Please, Tororo… We want to help you. Don't worry, I'll protect you." I promised.

"No, you won't! And I don't need protection." Tororo complained.

"Please, Tororo. I want to help you." Pururu softly cooed in a mothering voice. Tororo eventually took the bait and opened the wardrobe door.

I was sort of jealous Pururu got him out and I didn't.

"All right, fine. I'll come out." Tororo got out of his wardrobe slowly.

"There, better?" Pururu smiled, patting his head. He blushed a bit at the mothering attention.

No! He's my baby!

A sort of laughter filled my soul and the darkness encircled me.

* * *

I headed over towards Stella who was standing next to Rita's body. How'd we get in this room?

"Where's Pururu?" She asked me

"I have no idea." I shrugged, "Where is she?"

"Well, she was just with you a second ago. Remember? You two were checking for danger and then Pururu got a game over." Stella thought for a moment, her eyes narrowed, "Maybe that fox was right… Maybe a player is going around to getting us." Stella glared at me, "Kitty. I'm sorry but I have to suspect you." She took out her hanger and pointed it at me.

In self-defense I screamed and brought my ax up waving it at Stella.

Stella then slipped forward on what was my sister's last remaining thing of this game. Soap.

She slipped forward and I tried to discard my ax. I did so, just as Stella fell onto her hanger.

"Stella Garcia Game over." Kululu chuckled. Geez, I guess soap really was the 11th player.

Tororo walked into the room just then.

"Well, um…I'm sure this has an interesting explanation." Tororo looked at me confused.

"Soap killed her." I was silent, and I thought she was going to survive too!

"So I was thinking…You know that door next to the wardrobe? I think that's the exit out of here…" Tororo suggested.

"Let's go then." I smiled, reaching down to hold his hand. He seemed unhappy about holding hands, but he did so nonetheless.

We reached the door in no time at all.

"Crap, it's locked!" Tororo found out

"This is why you shouldn't have given your key to Taruru." I laughed at his stupidity about to say, 'I told you so' Just as I was about to speak low rumbling started approaching.

A gurgling sound of the monster's belly came closer.

"Crap!" I started playing with the doorknob. There was no luck.

"I wish I had the key…Pu, pu, pu…" Tororo wished. He looked at me and from his eyesight he saw something glittering in my pocket. "Kitty? Is that a key?" He asked.

I reached down and saw a small key with splatters of blood on it.

"Wonder how I got this…" I latched it into the key hole and turned the door. I pushed Tororo through and we ran through it and closed the door behind us.

"We're free…" I breathed, feeling fresh air all around me.

"Um…Kitty?" Tororo asked, "Look." I looked up to see us surrounded by monsters of all shapes and sizes. Some slithering and others crawling, even some zombies. "We're dead…" He realized, "You totally lied about protecting me by the way…"

I clutched my ax.

"No, I didn't." I knew what I had to do. "I will protect you from these things." I promised,

"How?" He asked. And the other me did the first thing that real me saw. I stabbed Tororo in the chest with my ax.

"Kitty?" He asked.

"It's more painless this way. You're protected. You escape the game." I told him.

"Buck private Tororo game over." Kululu's voice chuckled. The monsters froze just as Tororo's eyes closed, "Kitty Delenogan winner. You won at the expensive of your comrades. Ku, ku, ku. How interesting." Kululu laughed.

I was whisked away from the game.

* * *

Guys, I swear I wasn't the one who killed you guys. You are confused.

It might have looked like me and talked like me, but it wasn't me.

The thing that killed you was _another _me.


	39. Forgotten

**DAY THIRTY-FIVE, WORD THIRTY-FIVE: FORGOTTEN**

* * *

"...Can we start telling stories now, Lieutenant?"

"...To distract you from yesterday's incident, I assume?"

I was silent.

Garuru sighed and shook his head. "You will have to confront her eventually, Cadet."

I couldn't face Kitty after what happened. I couldn't talk to her. I actually was completely trying to avoid her at all costs, pressing 'Ignore' on her calls and immediately deleting her text messages without looking at them.

Getting brutally slaughtered right before your own eyes is not a pleasant experience. No. In fact, it was a horrific one- one that stayed on your mind and replayed over and over.

Just remembering the blood as it seeped past my fingers, and the light fade...

Ugh. I shuddered.

The phone rang again, like it had been all morning and noon. I held in an audible groan.

Before I could react, Garuru picked it up for me, and to my bewilderment, answered it.

"He does not wish to speak to you," the purple Keronian said simply, hanging up right after.

"...Thanks," I said slowly.

"Do not mention it."

It was awkward yesterday, I forgot to add. Horribly awkward. So awkward it was hard to breathe. I just kind of left the girls and their partners hanging there at the living room and disappeared without dismissing myself. Garuru had to see them to the door, instructing the youngest Keronians- surprisingly and uncharacteristically quiet, the leader noted- to pick up the ship piece as they left.

Apparently I wasn't the only one killed by the hands of the young girl, it seemed.

"I know I have to," I said, answering Garuru's statement too late. "...You know... Face her. But not now."

Garuru nodded. "Very well. But the sooner it's done, the sooner you will be at peace."

"Is it normal to be afraid of her?"

The purple Alien looked out the window.

"I mean..." I embarrassedly rubbed my neck. "...Think about it. Sure it was just a game, but if she did it in there..."

"Then you are concerned of the fact she might do it in real life. Here." Garuru finally gazed at me. "Where you have no second chances. I understand. It's a completely rational fear."

I shook my head. "I don't want to feel that sensation again."

"Very well, then." Garuru cocked his head toward the phone. "I'll assume she won't call for a while; a few hours, or the rest of the day, perhaps. But I still feel as if you should get it over with. Let her apologize to you."

"I'm sure that'll make us both feel better," I said honestly, "But not right now."

"Very well."

"...Lieutenant? Are you afraid of bugs?"

Garuru gave me a strange look. "What makes you think that?"

"It's just an assumption."

"Then your assumption is wrong."

"You sure? Because I'm pretty sure, as sure as you like rubber duckies-" I fell flat backwards as a pillow flew past me, barely missing my face.

"I hope you are not spreading that around," Garuru growled.

"I'm not," I laughed.

"They will if you keep making comments such as those, Cadet."

"So you admit it."

Garuru straightened. "I'm going to choose to ignore you now."

I sat back up. "But that isn't fun."

"Do you want to exchange experiences now, Cadet?"

"Sure." I bit my lower lip as I tried not to grin at his attempt to change the subject and looked up at the ceiling fan. "Um. Let's see... Did you know that I'm good at dodging?"

"Yes."

I blinked at him. "How?"

"Yesterday."

I blushed and looked away shyly. "...Oh yeah." I cleared my throat. "I'm not good at fighting, and you know that- well, when I was a kid, my sister would try to beat me up when she was angry, or just in a bad mood and when I was in the way." I shrugged. "I had to learn how to defend myself. I obviously couldn't hit her- when I did, she would cry, and I would be the one who got in trouble. I tried holding her back, but she was strong- still is, actually- so I couldn't do that. Eventually I just had to teach myself to avoid all her attacks by moving out of the way. I'm surprised with how much that came in handy, too."

"Like yesterday."

"Like yesterday." I paused for a moment. "I'm also good at dodgeball. Usually I'm the last person on my team. And avoiding bullies, that's also a plus..."

"...Bullies?"

"Your turn, right?"

Garuru perked a brow. "You had to deal with bullies before?"

"Eh, it happens. Sometimes. It's no big deal, though. I usually have them apologizing in the end."

"I can imagine you to be more the sort of person who apologizes if they got hit in the face."

I didn't say anything to that.

"...That actually happened, didn't it-?"

"Your turn, Lieutenant."

* * *

"Platoon," Garuru announced, looking over his team evenly, "I will be taking vacation time."

He said it so unusually solemn (well, more so than usual) that the others had immediately stopped their daily chitter-chatter and turned to him.

"Vacation?" Tororo repeated.

"Yes. I am unsure for how long, but I believe I'll be back soon, if not later."

"You going to Pekopon to play with your brother?" Taruru asked with a grin.

"...No," Garuru said flatly, as if he almost wished otherwise.

"...Lieutenant?" Pururu padded up to him. "...Did something happen?"

"I would prefer if you didn't meddle in my affairs, Chief Medic."

Pururu jumped slightly, and nodded in his respect as she humbly ducked her head down. "I was just... I was just concerned, Lieutenant."

"Yeah," Taruru piped up, giving him a warm smile. "We just want to help you out, whatever it is."

"We won't judge," Tororo added. "Well, I might-"

Zoruru nudged him with his organic arm, and Tororo whined in response.

Garuru stared at the screen that was beeping their current coordinates.

"Lieutenant-?"

"My teacher is dying."

The four team members jumped, surprised.

"Your... teacher?" Zoruru repeated.

"...Yes," Garuru then shook his head. "He was a very good teacher to me... He was my inspiration to become a sniper in the first place, to excel in all that I did. He also helped me through the toughest of times, when I believed there was no hope in the future. The least I could possibly do is make him comfortable during his final days."

"...So you're going back to Keron?" Taruru questioned.

"Yes, I am."

"Is he far?"

"I don't believe so. In fact, in about a day or I should arrive at his home."

"...Let us come with you."

Garuru blinked and looked at Taruru, who was cheerfully grinning and hitting his chest triumphantly with a fist.

"Or if the others don't want to go, just take me," the light blue Keronian continued. "Taking care of an old man is a lot of work! I want to help out the best I can!"

"...Me too," Pururu added. "I want to come too."

Zoruru sighed. "You must always retain a certain amount of respect for your elders... No matter how old of a geiser they are in the first place." He folded his arms. "I'll come along too, I guess."

"I can't be by myself," Tororo said. "I... Okay, fine, I'll go too."

Garuru's face hardened. "This might not be a good idea-"

"Lieutenant," Pururu interrupted him, meekly apologizing after doing so. "We're telling you this as your friends, not your platoon." She blushed when he perked a brow at her. "...E-err... strong accquaintances, then... But even then... as much as you probably do not wish to admit it... I think you may be better with company. This will be a hard thing for you to do alone, Lieutenant."

Strangely enough, she sounded just like his teacher, so long ago when he was young and in his classroom, depressed.

"...You are right," Garuru said, drawing back from that painful memory. "...Thank you, then. I will deeply appreciate it if you choose to accompany me."

"Count us all in, then!" Taruru cried out, flinging his arm in the air (again, it was attached). "We'll come with you and help out in anyway we can!"

Garuru was unable to resist a small smile, more or less startling his platoon members.

"...Thank you."

* * *

Garuru paused as the doorbell rang. He perked a brow at me curiously.

"I didn't invite anyone over..." I said slowly. My face paled at the realization that it might be Kitty, and I felt sick in my stomach.

"Should I answer?" Garuru asked me cautiously, aware of my state.

"N-no... I will..." I replied, shakily getting off my bed. "It might be someone that we don't know..."

Might. Oh, boy.

I walked to the door, slowly, hoping that whoever it was would think I wasn't home and leave. The second I stood within a few feet of the entrance someone knocked again. I groaned, and prepared myself.

I opened it.

"O-oh. Hey, guys."

Tororo was silent, and Taruru was smiling weakly, almost forcefully.

"Hey!" Taruru said, raising a hand in the air. "How are ya?"

"...Pretty good," I said awkwardly.

"Good. I am, too..." Taruru said.

"...Do you guys want to come inside?" I inquired, realizing the heat when it blew on my face. Picture yourself opening an oven; yes, that was exactly how it felt like. Why didn't they say anything sooner?

"Great, thanks," Taruru chirped, hopping inside. That random movement motivated Tororo to snap momentarily out of whatever he was thinking and come as well. He seemed kind of dazed, broody.

"The Lieutenant's upstairs," I told Taruru. "Do you need him?"

"Oh, no," Taruru waved his hands slightly. "Uh... we just wanted to... hang. Here. You won't mind, right?"

"Nah, of course not. If you guys are hungry I could try making you guys some s'mores."

"S'MORES! S'MORES!" the light blue Keronian cheered. He stopped in midair. Literally. Like, his whole body was just suspended...

"...How the heck did you-?"

"What is s'mores?" Taruru asked me. Gravity seemed to remember him, because it dropped him on his face.

"Oh," I smiled. "S'mores are kind of like a small melted marshmallow and chocolate sandwich, wedged between two graham crackers."

Taruru still looked confused. "A sandwich smushed together with crackers? Weird."

"No, no..! It's-" I paused, and then looked at Tororo, who was still being quiet. "...Buddy?"

"...Hm?"

"...You're being... quiet." Especially when the subject just turned to food. Is he feeling alright? I voiced my concerns.

"...Yeah," Tororo said vaguely. "I'm fine."

I frowned. "Tororo-"

"Can you make the stuffs for us?" Taruru intercepted with a dry chuckle. "We'll go up with the Lieutenant."

"Um... Sure."

I gave Tororo a strange look before I turned and left for the kitchen.

* * *

Tororo had fallen asleep on my bed when I came back- ironically, the same exact spot I was lying down on when I had gone to get the door.

"Tired?" I smiled a little. I bet he probably hated to admit it, but he was an awfully cute little guy.

"Exhausted," Taruru said, rubbing his own eye. "We were up all night."

"Oh? Why is that?"

Taruru chose at this moment not to say anything. I glanced at the Lieutenant curiously.

"They won't tell me," Garuru said with a small shrug. I could tell it was bugging him; the fact that they wouldn't even confide to their own captain probably unnerved him. It unnerved me, too.

"We will... later," Taruru affirmed. He cleared his throat. "So! What were you two up to before we came and crashed the party?"

"We were exchanging experiences," Garuru replied.

"Exchanging... experiences?" Taruru perked a brow.

"Um... I kind of made the Lieutenant do it," I rubbed the back of my neck. "See, I was afraid he would shoot me in his sleep if he didn't know or trust me well enough, so I came up with the idea that we exchange a story each day."

"Cool," the private said, stretching out the word. "What are they usually about?"

"Me, or the Lieutenant?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Um... personal stuff," I said slowly. "Like, it differs a day."

"Whose turn is it now?"

I pointed at Garuru.

"Is it one about us?" Taruru grinned.

"Yes, in fact, it is."

"Ooh! Ooh! Can I be the monkey in the guitar suit?"

"Experiences, Private," Garuru stressed, mildly annoyed. "Not mere stories."

"Darn," Taruru snapped his fingers. "It would've been funny to hear a bedtime story from the Lieutenant."

"They are funny," I said, laughing slightly. "I don't know how he does it."

"So what experience is it this time?" Taruru prodded.

"It is the one when we visited my teacher," Garuru said.

Taruru chuckled. "Oh. This is a good one. Did you already tell him about how Keronians were being subject to a serial killer case?"

I jumped slightly, and then leaned forward. "A serial killer case? Really? What happened?"

"Don't get too excited now," Taruru examined me carefully. "To think some guy who was afraid of horror movies would be interested in this."

"Horror movies with monsters and ghosts and Justin Beibers scare the living fly out of me," I explained with a small shudder, especially at the last option I provided him with. "But murder mysteries... Those are cool. I love them. Heck, I wouldn't mind even seeing a dead body."

"Until you smell it," Taruru waved his hand in the air. "Phew!"

Makes me wonder if he ever actually smelled one.

"I have a bad sense of smell," I told him, gesturing to my nose. "Seriously. I can't even smell whether or not you took a bath today."

"...Why do you say that?" Taruru stared at me with wide eyes.

"...And why do you ask that, Private?" Garuru asked back, folding his arms.

"ANYWAY! Serial killer case!" Taruru said, pointing a finger in the air. Garuru and I took a step away from him. "There was a serial killer case at the time, right?"

"...Right," Garuru said. He cleared his throat. "Yes, yes, that's right."

"...Lieutenant?"

"Yes?"

"...Aren't ya gonna continue?"

Garuru frowned. "I don't think I would feel comfortable-"

"Fine, then I'll tell it!" Taruru said gleefully. "I really like telling stories!"

It took a moment for Garuru to register that. He sighed and shook his head. "Yes, then. I shall continue where we had left off."

"YAY!" Taruru hopped up and down. I glanced at Tororo. Little guy was still asleep- either he was too tired to wake up, or he had already become well accustomed to Taruru's loud-mouthness.

I honestly wasn't sure.

I turned on the fan to cool the tadpole down.

"Hey, can I have some of that?" Taruru asked, pointing at the plate of s'mores.

"Oh, sure." I handed it to him, and he helped himself, stuffing one inside his mouth.

Garuru cleared his throat.

* * *

When you reach a particular area, sometimes a message would pop up on the screen of the main computer regarding certain events that had happened at that place. Sometimes they would bring up the points of a celebration or a festival that was coming up, or a local danger that might hinder a mission (or, in their case, a vacation).

At that moment, it was the latter.

"A serial killer?" Zoruru read.

"Pu-pu! Sweet!" Tororo twirled around in his swirly chair. "That means you get to try out my new weapon, Lieutenant!"

"The chances of meeting the serial killer is unlikely," Garuru said, folding his arms. "However, I am intrigued to find out what you created, New Recruit."

"I call it..." Tororo paused. "...The 6721VroomVroom gun!"

Garuru rose his brows. "...I beg your pardon?"

"Okay, okay, call it what you want," Tororo demonstrated the weapon and held it out to his leader, who took it and examined it carefully.

"What is its purpose, if I may ask?" Garuru finally inquired.

"It sucks things, pu-pu!"

"It... sucks things?" Pururu repeated.

"Yeah."

"I believe they already invented something like that, Tororo," Zoruru shook his head and scoffed. "It's called the 'vacuum cleaner'."

"It's not a vacuum cleaner!" Tororo snapped. "It has a much higher velocity than a vacuum cleaner! If we were fighting against... I dunno... water monsters or something, then this gun could suck it all up without damaging it." He clicked his fingers. "A vacuum cleaner can't do that, can it?"

"Like I said earlier," Garuru said skeptically, looking over the gun again before finally putting it in his hammerspace, "I don't believe we'll be meeting the serial killer during our visit, but I suppose having this on hand won't be useless..."

"What's that?" Taruru scrunched up his nose and glanced at Pururu. "A cereal killer? Someone who likes to kill cereal? Why would they make such a big deal about that?"

"No, no, no," Tororo spun toward his teammate. "Serial killer. Like, 'serial'? As in, a series of events?"

"...Oh. Oh? Wha?"

"You're hopeless," Tororo muttered, rolling his eyes.

"No, see," Pururu jumped in to explain, "A serial killer is a murderer who kills Keronians more than once."

"You mean... like... all at once?"

"Um... a murderer could kill a whole bunch of people at one time, but it doesn't necessarily make him a serial killer," the nurse said slowly. "Okay, here's an example: let's say someone killed someone else on Thursday-"

"Why's it gotta be Thursday?" Taruru protested. "That's, like, my sixth favorite day of the week!"

"It doesn't matter what day it is!" Zoruru growled. "If they continue to kill people in a duration of time, usually with the same methods, then they are a serial killer!"

"Ooh." Taruru glanced at the cyborg. "So you're a serial killer."

Zoruru became silent, and then impatient. He perked up his only eye and folded his arms. "...That's different."

"You kill other Keronians, right?"

"...Right..."

"And you use the same technique to kill them...?"

Zoruru made an exaggerated grunt. "That's different. Serial killing is illegal! I work for the Keronian government!"

"So..." Taruru rubbed his chin, almost like he had one. "You're a legal serial killer."

"I give up," Zoruru snarled, zipping off somewhere.

Garuru stared out the window, eyes lost as they watched the star-shaped vegetation grow closer and closer to the ship. Something soft touched his shoulder, and he immediately turned around, striking whatever had pressed his skin. Pururu squeaked and hopped back, rubbing her arm. Garuru's look softened.

"...Chief Medic, I apologize."

Pururu smiled weakly. "No. It's fine. I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that."

Garuru turned back to the window. The light purple Keronian timidly walked beside him, managing to maintain a fair distance so that she wasn't too close or too far to encourage conversation.

After a still moment, she spoke up. "Was he a good teacher?"

Something caught in Garuru's throat. "Yes." He rose a bent finger to his mouth and cleared his throat.

Pururu glanced at him from the side.

The leader was not emotional; he preferred to keep his emotions underway.

"What did he teach?" Pururu inquired.

Garuru cocked his head slightly. "He taught Arithmetic."

"Arithmetic."

"Yes." Garuru remained silent for a moment before he continued. "I was... a troubled student."

"Really?"

"Yes. For a while. I would skip out on classes and not bother to do the homework. I honestly didn't feel like learning anything."

Pururu blinked at him. "I can't imagine..."

"Yes. True. Like I mentioned, it was only for a while. He... helped me get back on track, you can say." Garuru winged his arms out as he stretched them behind his back, hands together. "He was kind, but firm. As a lesson he had locked me in the room after school with him and refused to let me out until I had done all my homework." He gave Pururu a brief glanced before he looked out the window. "All the homework. Not just the ones he had assigned to me."

Pururu giggled. "How long did that last?"

"Hours," Garuru shook his head. "I remember. I barely passed that semester." He shrugged a shoulder. "Long after my school ended, both of us still kept in close contact. I visit him occasionally, he'll write me a letter. I haven't seen him since I joined this platoon, however."

"Which explains why we've never heard of him," Pururu said with a shy smile.

Garuru nodded. "Again, I apologize for the-"

"Don't worry about it," Pururu gently patted his arm. "You've helped us in the past, and now it's our turn to help you."

"...It comforts me to know that I shall have your full support."

"That's what fri... that's what we're here for, Lieutenant."

* * *

"I've never been to the countryside!" Taruru said cheerfully, hopping out of the ship. He inhaled deeply. "AHHHH. It smells great!"

"It smells... dirty," Tororo said, wrinkling his nose. He hesitantly stepped on the dusty ground. "Ugh."

"Just because you aren't surrounded by technology doesn't mean it isn't clean," Zoruru told him.

"Pu-pu. I know that much, Scraps. I'm always surrounded by you."

"...YOU-!"

"Platoon," Garuru snapped. His team straightened immediately. "I want you in your best behavior. I understand that this is vacation time for all of you, but I would still deeply appreciate it. Can I trust you to do at least that much?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Hey, Lieutenant?" Tororo glanced warily around. "Where are we going to sleep?"

"My teacher has graciously given us permission to reside in his home," Garuru replied, "However, I informed him that there would be no need seeing as we have our ship. We do not want to be a burden to him."

"I dunno, Lieutenant," Taruru puckered his lips out and bent his arms behind his neck. "I think we should take up the offer to, ya know, help him out and stuff. What if he like falls on his back and can't get up when we're not there?"

Garuru winced, and seemed to reconsider his decision.

"What about his family?" Pururu asked. "As much as I agree with Taruru, Lieutenant, I can't help but want to know whether or not his family will be with him-"

"I did question that," Garuru interrupted her. "He had stated that he is living alone, and there are no relatives that are coming by to see him."

The platoon jumped, startled.

"They're not going to see him even in his final hours...?" Pururu murmured, baffled.

"Maybe he just doesn't have family?" Tororo suggested.

Everyone became quiet with uncertainty, Taruru noticeably affected by that unnerving statement the most.

"Let's go," the light blue Keronian said. "I wanna see him and help out as soon as I can."

"Very well," Garuru nodded. "I'll show you the way."

* * *

The house was a lot bigger than they actually expected.

"Thought you said it was going to be small," Zoruru said.

"It is," Garuru responded smoothly. "...For a mansion."

Taruru whistled. "Impressive!"

"I think you should go and knock on the door, Lieutenant," Pururu said.

The purple Keronian gazed up at the large panel doors and began to feel a wave of nostalgia and sadness wash over him. He quietly rose his balled hand up and rapped his knuckles against the frame. The platoon heard echoes bounce over emptiness from the inside, and they looked at each other hesitantly.

"Ring the doorbell," Tororo pointed.

Garuru did so, and even louder did the bell ring through hollow rooms. At that point, they heard a distant, 'I'm coming, I'm coming!' followed by rowdy thumps that were unmistakably footsteps, rushing down to meet the team.

The four Keronians behind Garuru shuffled slightly, looking off to the side, examining the patio. The 'I'm coming's getting louder, Garuru took a small step backward and squared his shoulders, erecting his posture. The knobs clicked as they turned, and the door opened.

A middle-aged Keronian stood on the inside of the small mansion, his hands lying idly on the brass knob. He was a pale gray color, almost white, the insignia that sat on the front of his black floppy hat a green-filled circle. His dark green eyes were slanted with age and they wrinkled slightly as they narrowed to observe his former student and the new arrivals. A full black mustache curled at the corners along with its partner the lips, friendly smile stretching.

"Garry! Good to see you!"

The platoon watched with horror, fascination, and bewilderment as the former teacher lunged toward their stoic leader to grab him- or rather, his neck- into some sort of one armed wrestle/hug thing.

"Teacher, this isn't appropriate," Garuru said, voice muffled.

"Everything's appropriate here!" his teacher chuckled. "Absolutely everything!"

Tororo stifled a laugh and had to hide behind Taruru to keep himself from provoking his leader. Pururu watched on with a broken smile, unsure of what to think of this. Zoruru simply smirked.

"I do not want to hurt you," the leader said, struggling slightly to get his head back. "Please release me."

"I'm still quite robust, you know," the older Keronian said. "Go on! Show me how strong you are!"

"...I concede defeat."

"You're no fun!" His teacher let him go, Garuru straightening and rubbing his neck in mild embarrassment. "We do this all the time when he comes over," the teacher explained. "Yo. I'm Multiti. But I suppose you can call me 'teacher'; I only just retired, you know, but I'm still not as used to you youngsters calling me by my name." His shoulders shook as he laughed.

"Jolly, aren't we?" Zoruru said under his breath.

"Very!" Multiti agreed. "I prefer to be positive and upbeat about life."

The platoon winced, and he frowned slightly.

"...Ah," the older Keronian said, folding his arms. He glanced at Garuru. "I suppose you told them, then."

"I have," Garuru said slowly. "...I hope it does not bother you."

"Nah, it doesn't!" Multiti said, as cheerful as ever. "It's great to meet more people! ...You know, before I die and stuff."

Taruru and Tororo exchanged a glance.

"...You're taking this brutally well," Zoruru noted.

"It's not anything to worry about! Circle of life, right?"

"Teacher," Garuru said this in a tone that made Multiti look at him. "My platoon and I were hoping to stay... and see if there was anything we could do to help you make your..." he coughed awkwardly, "...more comfortable."

"There's absolutely nothing I need," Multiti said with a grin. "I've gotten everything taken care of."

Tororo sneezed, and a cloud of dust rose from the dusty wood on the patio. "Dirty..." he whined, waving the dust away from him.

"Oh. Right. Come in, come in!" Multiti gestured toward the inside of his house. "Make yourselves at home!"

The five Keronians followed the older Keronian in.

"It's... awfully dirty here..." Garuru heard Pururu murmur.

"Yes, yes it is," Multiti said, startling the young female behind him. He waved off the flustered apology from the nurse. "No, it really is. I've just been too lazy to get down and scrub it clean." He extended his arms to the kitchen. "As you can see, I can keep it moderately clean, but I've never been too picky with dust and the whatnot" He folded them in and gazed around his house. "I'd like to see how this ol' place would look spotless, though."

"I can do it!"

The platoon and the former teacher all turned toward the light blue Keronian, who had risen an arm in the air.

"...Excuse me?" Multiti perked a brow.

"Clean your house? I could totally do it!" Taruru poked his lips out. "You can leave it to me!"

"H-hold it youngster," Multiti frowned. "I-"

"I believe that is an excellent idea." Garuru gazed over at Multiti. "We would like to assist you in the cleaning of your mansion home."

The old teacher rubbed the back of his neck. "You don't have to do that-"

"We want to!" Taruru insisted. "Really!"

"Welll..." Multiti drawled, playing with his mustache. "If you really do, then I suppose I shan't make any objections." Something hissed further in the kitchen. "Sit down at the living room, why don't you, and relax? I'll get you some tea and you could introduce yourselves to me then." He nodded at Garuru before he turned around. "You know where it is, Garry!"

As the purple Keronian showed them to another room, this one full of antiqued furniture and the like, Zoruru gave the leader a side glance.

"Garry?"

Garuru sighed. "It was quite an unfortunate nickname he had given me when I was younger and still in his class."

No one in their right mind would have the audacity to call him such a ridiculous name now.

"I like it!" Taruru piped. "I think that's what I'm gonna call you from now on~!"

"Right mind" was the keyword.

All that was needed from Garuru was a strict glare, and Taruru didn't dare attempt the new wordplay on his leader. Though it didn't stop the kid from grinning.

"Cleaning, Lieutenant?" Zoruru made something of a face as he gazed around the room. "You would be willing to put your dignity on the line and resume the role of a housemaid?"

"Where is your sense of humility, Lance Corporal?" Pururu asked with a smile. "It can't be that bad."

"Maybe it's 'cuz Scraps doesn't know how to clean," Tororo chuckled. "Do you, Scraps?"

Zoruru hmph'd and looked away irritably.

"Here we are!" Multiti said cheerfully, putting down a platter of tea and cookies. Taruru and Tororo dove right away at the biscuits, Garuru covering his face with one hand in embarrassment. "Please help yourselves." He sat down on a lone chair and folded his arms. "So. I know who Garuru is, obviously. But if I'm going to let you clean my house, then I should at least know the names of my former student's platoon."

"In that case I'll choose to remain silent," Zoruru said, looking away.

"Lance Corporal," Garuru frowned.

"Ah, feisty, aren't we?" Multiti rose two brows and grinned. "He reminds me of you when you were younger, Garuru. Exactly the same."

"His name's Scraps," Tororo said through a mouthful of cookie.

"Scraps?" Multiti repeated, wrinkling his non-existent nose. "What a peculiar-"

"It's Zoruru," the cyborg retorted. "Not Scraps." He pointed at Tororo. "And I don't think I gave you permission to call me by that."

"Pu-pu! Don't need it! I gave myself permission."

A vein pop appeared visibly on the organic side of Zoruru's cheek.

"I must apologize for my platoon's behavior," Garuru said slowly, giving a strict look to the Lance Corporal. The latter caught his expression and looked away, almost embarrassed.

"It's all good! Makes it exciting for a dull bore like me."

"I'm Taruru!" the light blue Keronian said, waving his arm in the air.

"This is Second Class Private Taruru," Garuru said, gently urging the excitable team member to sit down. "This is Lance Corporal Zoruru. New Recruit Tororo, and Chief Medic Pururu."

"You look familiar," Multiti said as he gazed at the nurse. "Have you ever been to Garuru's school, before?"

"I have," she replied cheerfully. "I actually was in the same class as his brother."

Multiti nodded absentmindedly. "Yes, that's quite right, isn't it? I think I remember you. You've never had my class though, correct?"

"No," Pururu shook her head. "I'm sure I would've remembered you."

Multiti grinned at this before he turned to Garuru. "You haven't spoken to me for a while! How have you been?"

"I've been good."

"I can see you've made quite a name for yourself," the teacher said proudly. "I see your platoon's name on the papers from time to time."

"Pu-pu! Who reads the papers?" Tororo inquired with a smirk.

"Old men like me."

"And old women like her." Tororo jerked a thumb toward Pururu, who turned pale at the suggestion.

Without bothering to consult her leader, she turned away and began to obsessively at her face.

Multiti shook his head. "I only read the papers occasionally for the crossword puzzles. I like me some good old crossword puzzles."

"I remember," Garuru glanced at the small table in front of them, where there was one splayed out for all to see. The word "dumb" was scrabbled in several of the spaces. He cleared his throat quietly. "Excuse me for being blunt, teacher, but I came here to check up on your condition."

"Condition?"

"Yes. Are you... positive... that you are going to pass away?"

"Very!" Multiti patted Garuru's hand. "But I'm glad to see that you wanted to come before I start kicking at the ground." He paused. "That's an expression, right?"

Taruru and Tororo shrugged.

"So let me show you to your rooms, and-"

"We do not wish to burden you," Garuru told him. "Under normal circumstances we would have just stayed on our ship, but-"

"Burden? Pfft! The only time you were a burden was when you went through that phase back at school."

Garuru cringed at this. "Believe me, if you only knew how apologetic I am about-"

"Think nothing of it!" Multiti slugged his former student on the arm. The recoil seemed to affect the older Keronian more beside his victim, however. "Since when did you turn into a rock, Garry?" He waved his own hand. "Ow."

"Are you alright?" Pururu jumped in, trauma broken for the moment.

"I'm fine," Multiti pointed at Garuru. "It's only his skin. Or my hand has gotten weaker. Though I'd like to think it's him." He rested his hands on his hips. "Now, then. As the host of this house-thing, I must insist that you stay for the night."

Garuru sighed. "If you insist, then..."

"There's no WiFi here," Tororo said, frowning as he looked down at his laptop.

Multiti gave the tadpole an odd look. "What's WiFi?"

* * *

The next morning, the platoon awoke to the smell of fresh baked bread.

"You don't have to," Garuru said, shaking his head at his teacher's attempt to be courteous. "Really. We're fine."

"Speak for yourself!" Tororo had already dug in. "This is the best bread I've ever had!"

"It was made from an old recipe," Multiti said proudly. "I can't remember where I got it from, though."

"It is rather delicious," Pururu said politely, taking a bite of her piece.

"Needs more sugar, though," Tororo pointed out.

"Do you have jam? Or chocolate?" Taruru inquired, peering closely at his slice of bread. "Or maybe even duck sauce?"

"What?" Tororo shot a look at his comrade. "...What's duck sauce?"

Taruru shot a similar look back at his friend. "How should I know?!"

"Wha? You were the one who brought it up!"

"Monkeys always finish last."

"What?!"

"Lively bunch, aren't they?" Mulititi asked with a small snicker.

"You have no idea," Zoruru muttered. He gazed over at his leader. "Were you serious about having to clean his house, Lieutenant?"

"Of course," Garuru said. "How could I be otherwise?"

"No offense, but I don't think I could imagine you picking up a broom and sweeping the floor," the cyborg replied dryly.

Garuru blinked at him, almost amusingly. "Is that a challenge I hear, Lance Corporal?"

"Not really, but-"

Before Zoruru had a chance to finish his sentence, Garuru stood up from his chair, grasped the pole of the broom that was against the wall, and began the chore, starting at the kitchen.

The platoon stared in disbelief.

"If you, uh, really want to clean my house..." Multiti said, unsure, "...then you could start down here, and then move up to the rooms..."

Zoruru made something of a defeated grunt. "What do you need taken care of?"

* * *

Zoruru let out a battle cry as he lunged forward with a curled fist, approaching fast with fury and determination toward his powerless prey.

Bam.

He hit a mat.

"Why won't this dust come off?!" Zoruru snarled venomously, continually socking and kicking and punching the dirty mat.

"You're doing great, Zoruru!" Pururu cried out encouragingly. "You can do it!"

Zoruru ignored her, focusing all his wretched attention at the floppy, dusty mat.

Pururu sighed quietly and went back to her own task: cleaning the wooden floors of the mansion. In hand she had a small scrub brush covered in suds of soap, courtesy of the bubbly bucket beside her. She had tied a bandana over her hat to keep the flaps off her face (for some odd reason) and had already completed several chores before.

"It looks good, Chief Medic," Garuru nodded, glancing over her process.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Pururu replied cheerfully, saluting.

Tororo was helping Taruru hang up the laundry.

"All of these are socks!" Tororo complained, staring down at the bucket of foot-clothing. "We don't even wear socks!"

"Who says he wears them?" Taruru asked, pinning another sock on the clothesline. "Maybe he dips them in chocolate and sells them to passersby." He mocked wiping a tear from his eye. "Those poor, poor souls."

Tororo simply gazed at him strangely. "How the heck does your mind work."

"You need a question mark in that sentence."

"Do I?"

"Do you?!" Taruru flung the sock that he had in his hand on the ground. "YOU ARE BREAKING THE RULES OF GRAMMAPHANY!"

"You mean grammar?" Tororo inquired, bored. He picked up the sock and inspected it. "Meh. It's still clean."

Garuru wrapped a piece of cloth around his mouth, and then proceeded to dust the sliding doors.

"I haven't seen these things clean since..." Multiti lost his train of thought as he looked at his former student. "I have to say, Garry, I really appreciate you doing this for me!"

Although Garuru really wished he would stop referring him to that ridiculous nickname, he used the cloth that bound half his face as an excuse not to talk.

"VACUUM CLEANER GLORY!" Taruru screamed, riding the said instrument around the house.

The purple Keronian face-palmed.

"How would you younguns like some tea?" Multiti offered, setting down a platter of cups down on the floor near the area the platoon was working.

Tororo plopped beside it, tired. "Are they cold?"

"Well... should I have made iced tea?" Multiti sounded self-concious.

"No. Warm tea is good," Pururu told him gently. She took her cup and sipped it.

"Well I'm POOPED!" Taruru said with a great big sigh. He fell on his back and gazed at the blue sky. "How much longer do we have to work?"

Garuru politely declined a cup from his educator. "We aren't finished yet."

Taruru groaned loudly.

"You don't have to-" Multiti began.

"We do, and we will," Garuru interrupted him firmly. "At least... I will." He gazed at his platoon. "If you would like to rest, you may. I'll continue, however."

"...You're making us feel guilty, you jerk," Tororo mumbled from the floor.

"Well, if you insist on going on..." Multiti said, resting his hands on his hips, "...then at least rest for a while." He shook his head. "You're the same as you were always, Garuru. Always so hardworking, always so annoying diligent..."

"You say that as if it was a negative quality," Garuru said, perking a brow.

"It isn't, for the most part," the old Keronian said, picking up Garuru's unused cup and sipping it for himself. "It's commendable, yes, but I always hated having to pick you up and/or drag you to the nurse's room after you passed out after too much studying."

Garuru winced. "I had forgotten."

"Yeah, it wasn't that much fun." Multiti paused. "No, wait. It was fun after it became a habit, because then I decided to take advantage of it and draw on your face..."

"...I had forgotten that too."

"Speaking of which, I pranked you a lot in school, didn't I?" Multiti looked back with a grin, reminiscing. "I do remember that. All sorts of ways to get your attention during the class... ooh! Remember the time when I glued toilet paper to your nose?!"

Garuru didn't reply. He simply touched his face and looked away in embarrassment.

"How the heck did this guy keep his job?" Zoruru asked flatly, sitting down. He picked up his tea and held it gingerly with one hand.

"Pu-pu! That's nothing!" Tororo waved his hand in the air. "Once, I super-glued the Lieutenant's butt to a chair!"

"Ooh! That sounds like a good one!" Multiti nodded. "Drat. Too bad I'm not a teacher anymore. I would have definitely tried that."

"But gluing toilet paper to someone's nose is pretty cool too," Tororo mused.

"I should tell you my other schemes as Garry's teacher-"

"Please don't encourage him," Garuru, Zoruru, and Pururu said in unison.

* * *

In two days, the entire mansion was cleaned up. Multiti examined it, impressed.

"Well done, Garuru," Multiti pressed his finger against one of the collection of furnitures and slid it across the border. "Very well done. I can't believe you fulfilled one of final wishes before I pass away. Thank you."

"I only wish there were more things we could do for you," Garuru told him, gazing about.

"Well..."

"You had to get him started," Zoruru muttered.

"There is this big mountain that overlooks my home. I'm sure you've seen it, correct?"

"We've seen it," Pururu pointed. "It's about... that direction, right?"

"Right. Up there is a dangerous gang that protects a sacred treasure that lies underneath an enormous oak tree. No one has been able to climb all the way to the top."

"Because of the dangerous gang?" Taruru asked. "No biggie! We could fight pretty good."

"No. Because it's really high. Like, everyone gets tired just climbing it."

Taruru cleared his throat. "*cough*TORORO*cough**cough*"

"I heard that!" Tororo pouted.

"But even if you do reach the top," Multiti continued, "You'll have to go against a mysterious force, and then fight against the band of gangsters. Or whatever you kids call it these days. And then... my final, last dying wish is for you to-"

"Get the treasure?" Tororo folded his arms. "Pu! Yeah, yeah, we got it covered."

"No, of course not!" Multiti frowned. "I want you to get me one of the acorns from the oak tree!"

"...What."

"Well, an oak tree is like... big, and it has these nuts at the top-"

"I know what an acorn and an oak tree is!" Tororo retorted. "What I mean is, why?"

"Son." Multiti placed a well-meaning hand on Garuru's shoulder. "Sometimes, a man just needs to taste an acorn. It's complicated."

Garuru felt a small drop of sweat roll against his cheek. "...Why are you speaking to me if the New Recruit asked the question...?"

"Oh. I thought it was you."

"...Our voices are completely different-"

"Oh. Well. This is embarrassing."

Garuru sighed. "Have you been speaking to my father again?"

"Yeah, I was, actually," Multiti rubbed his mustache. "We were both arguing about which one of us had the most epic facial hair."

"Who won?" Taruru inquired, suddenly interested.

Multiti let out a breath of resignation. "I can't beat dem eyebrows."

"...That's... fascinating," Zoruru said, bored.

"I DIDN'T KNOW WE HAD HAIR!" Taruru gasped. He hopped to his feet and ran off to find the nearest bathroom. They could hear his voice from down the hall. "WHOA!"

Garuru massaged his forehead.

As much as he hated to admit it, he had completely, and willingly, surrounded himself with idiots.

* * *

The trek was a long one. Of course, Zoruru had to resort to carrying Tororo on his back because the tadpole was too tied to walk anymore, after about three feet of hiking.

They had to stop several times, actually, because the trip wore everyone down. Zoruru more than anyone, for obvious reasons. About several hours of carrying Tororo made the poor cyborg shut down. That was another stop, though this time it was Tororo having to administer a check up for the Keronian. When he rebooted his system, Zoruru was walking again. Though this time Zoruru told Tororo to pick himself up.

"But why?" Tororo complained.

"One excellent reason," Zoruru answered, spinning around to face the tadpole. He poked Tororo's belly. "Because you're heavy, Tubs.-" He paused. "...I like that."

Tororo gave him a testy glare. "...Like... what?"

"Tubs," Zoruru smirked. "It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"D-... don't call me that!"

"Why not... Tubs?" Zoruru snickered.

"Because I don't like it!"

"I don't like Scraps myself," Zoruru folded his arms. "If you give me a nickname, it's only fair I give you one too."

"Lance Corporal, New Recruit," Garuru barked. "I would appreciate it if you kept your arguing underway. We're nearing the destination."

Tororo poked his tongue out at Zoruru, and then shuffled closer to Garuru, Pururu, and Taruru, who had distanced themselves quite a ways from them.

A few more hours later, they began to see a small cottage, a giant oak tree, and a treasure chest less than a mile away.

"We're almost there WE'RE ALMOST THERE!" Taruru cried out.

"Sh," Zoruru hissed. "Don't forget about the gang."

"Indeed," Garuru lowered his voice. "Please do be cautious."

Pururu blinked and squinted. She rubbed her eyes. "Is it just me, or is the air suddenly becoming thicker?"

"Yeah... she's right!" Taruru looked around and began to imitate her action.

A haze began to cover them, misting around them mysteriously.

"Frog," Garuru mumbled. He coughed and then covered his mouth. "I don't believe this is normal, platoon."

"It smells nice." Taruru began to swoon.

"It's vapor!" Pururu put her hand over her nose. "Don't inhale it!"

"This might be an attack!" Garuru cried out, his voice muffled from behind his nose. "Everyone! Prepare yourselves!"

His platoon stood their ground; Garuru materializing a weapon, Zoruru readied his arm, Pururu her needle, Taruru himself, and Tororo hid behind his team members.

They were prepared to face whatever was thrown at them- anything and everything.

"WOO HOO!"

Well... except that.

"T...Taruru?" Pururu stared at the light blue Keronian in bewilderment. "What in the world...?"

"I WANT TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT EVERYBODY!" Taruru yelled, wearing a somewhat goofier grin than he was accustomed to wearing. "I'm... na-ked!"

"I'm sure that announcement is a shocker for everyone, Taruru," Zoruru made an eye-roll.

"Really, Private," Garuru said, voice still muddled. "Is this absolutely necessary?"

"You... SHUT YOUR TRAP!"

"...Excuse me?"

"JUST CUZ YER THIS BIG SHOT OF THIS WHOLE SPITOON," Taruru yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at him, "AND CUZ YOU LIKE HAVE ALL THE FANCY GUNS AND THE BELT, AND THAT YER LIKE THE LIEUTENANT AND PURPLE AND STUFF, DON'T MEAN YOU GET TO CALL THE BIG CHEESE!"

"What are you talking about, Taruru?" Pururu asked, exasperated. She released her arms, letting them flop at her sides.

"I'm saying that I should be the leader!" Taruru gestured at his hat. "THAT. THAT AND I SHOULD HAVE A PIRATE HAT. I will be known as second class pirate Taruru! The pirate! Rated E for everyone."

"Pu-pu-pu! You're acting stupider than usually do!" Tororo giggled. "Watch, though! Bet I could be shtupider than you! WATCH ME DO THE HULA, EVERYONE!" Tororo then proceeded to do his own rendition of that Aloha song, waving his arms along with the completely-out-of-tune music he was uttering.

"Private, New Recruit!" Garuru snapped. "This is absolutely no time to be playing games!"

"I think it may be the mist, Lieutenant."

Garuru gazed at Zoruru, who was looking all around himself.

"Yes. I believe it's this... it's this sort of gas that messes with the brain." He looked at the leader. "Don't inhale it. I guess I'm fine since I'm wearing this mask... thing."

"Good observation... Zoruru."

Zoruru and Garuru turned their attention to Pururu, who suddenly appeared as if she was slightly groggy, her eyes heavy, her body swooning slightly from side to side.

"...Chief Medic...?" Zoruru asked unsurely, taking a footstep or two away from the female nurse as she continued to move closer to him.

"Oh, Zoruru!" Pururu wrapped her arms around his neck. A deep crimson color spread across his face as she began to nuzzle his chest. "Have I ever told you that yer the mosht attractiff Keronian I've ever meht?"

"Ch-Chief Medic, this sort of contact is undignified..."

"Who caresh about undigni-whooseit?" Pururu purred. "Ohh... baby... hug me till you drug me, honey~"

"W-what's wrong with you?" Zoruru attempted to push her away without hurting her, the female holding on fast.

"Nooooo we wash meant to be together!"

"Oh, this is ridiculous," Garuru muttered, somewhat annoyed. He materialized the whatchamacallit 'vroomvroom' gun Tororo invented and aimed it toward the sky, sucking in all the venomous air that was making complete fools of his platoon members. Slowly, as the toxic vapors began to disperse, the platoon began to stop what they were doing; Taruru stopped rubbing his butt on the ground, Tororo stopped howling and thumping his foot like a dog, and Pururu stopped kissing Zoruru's neck.

"O-oh!" Pururu squeaked, pushing herself off of Zoruru. She bowed, her face covered in a thick pink blush. "Apologies, Zoruru!"

"I-it's fine," Zoruru said weakly. "I'm going to... stand over there." He zipped near Garuru.

"Why was I on the floor?" Taruru looked at his platoon in confusion. "And why did I suddenly have the irresistible urge to bite and drool all over the Lieutenant's head?"

Garuru instantly became relieved that he had thought quick enough to use the invention Tororo made. It turned out to be useful in the end after all; he had nearly forgotten it.

"HEY!" Tororo pointed. "Were you the ones that made us look like idiots?!"

Four little dwarf-like aliens made small noises as they hid behind a giant rock. Zoruru lifted it, his expression more than a little annoyed.

"Hey there!" Taruru said with a smile. "We're going to take something of yours... whether you like it or not."

"Please don't take me gold!" One of them cried. "It's our only livlihood."

"Nah, we just want your acorns," Taruru gestured at the tree.

"What are ye, idiots?!"

"Yes," Taruru said proudly. "Yes we is."

"Speak for yourself," Zoruru growled.

"Well..." the leader of the elves said slowly, "I suppose if ye want the acorns... it's better than 'aving the gold..."

"We were going to get it anyway, pu-pu!" Tororo grinned.

"I CALL IT! I GET IT!" Taruru raced past Tororo and easily clambered up the tree.

"Does 'e always act like that?" one of the elves asked, baffled. "We din't e'en 'ave to administer the miasma!"

"SO IT WAS YOU." Zoruru and Tororo said darkly.

"I got the acorns!" Taruru waved the nuts over his head. "We get to go home now!"

"Lance Corporal, New Recruit," Garuru said strictly, "I'd appreciate it if we got a move on. It is a long way back down."

"You were lucky this time," Zoruru told the little elves sinisterly. "Next time, you won't be. Understand?"

They nodded timidly.

"Lance Corporal."

"Yes, Lieutenant."

* * *

The platoon came back, exhausted, just as Multiti was listening to some small device, nodding to himself.

"We got your acorns..." Tororo said tiredly. He plopped them in an empty bowl on top of one of the many furnitures and fell flat against the sofa. He fell asleep instantly.

"Good news, everyone!"

The platoon gazed at the former teacher curiously.

"I'm not dying anymore!"

"...You're kidding," Zoruru said flatly.

"On what basis do you...?" Pururu's voice trailed off. It seemed as if she, like the whole platoon, had mixed feelings about this.

Multiti turned up the radio he was listening to.

"...the area is now safe, after the serial killer, Jinini, has been caught and taken into custody."

"Oh, that... poptart killer..."

"_Serial _killer," Pururu told him needlessly. She placed a hand against her forehead. "No offense, teacher, but what does that have anything...?"

"You see, I was _so _sure I was going to die, because that guy was on the loose killing people," Multiti affirmed with a firm nod. "I was sure I was going to be the next victim."

"On _what basis?_" Zoruru hissed.

Multiti shrugged. "Initiative?"

"...Can I kill him, leader?"

Garuru was silent, his expression one completely void of feeling. His platoon fell just as silent, shuffling uncomfortably in the dry air their Lieutenant created.

"Did you believe I was dying of old age?" Multiti chuckled. "Silly-sillies! Of course not! Didn't I tell you that I'm still quite robu-"

Without a moment of caution, Garuru reached over and smacked his former teacher hard in the back of the head.

"Garry!" his teacher whined. "What was that for?"

"That was for worrying me," Garuru said, eyes flashing behind his visor. "And for making us lose our vacation time regardless of the circumstance."

"Aw! But the ways you guys were going at it, I thought you were having fun!"

"Unbelievable," Garuru said under his breath, shaking his head. "I should have known that you would have pulled something like this."

"Right. Keywords: 'should have known'," his teacher piped up. He picked up one of the acorns and bit into it. "Mm. Acorn?"

"I'm leaving," Garuru said, turning around.

"I second that motion," Zoruru said with a huff. "I'll be at the ship." He vanished quickly.

"...Me too," Pururu said quickly. She urged Taruru to pick up the sleeping tadpole and then quickly followed after the assassin, Taruru right in back of her.

"You aren't mad, are you, Garuru?" Multiti frowned, folding his arms at the only member who had hesitantly stayed behind. "I apologize. I suppose that was thoughtless of me-"

"It _was_."

"Now, you didn't have to go on and agree with me!"

Garuru didn't say anything.

"If it makes you feel better," Multiti said slowly, "I believe you changed."

"...Changed." Garuru turned around again, gazing at the Keronian. "...In what way?"

"In a good way. If anything, Garuru, I'm glad you stayed, even if wasn't for the right reasons." Multiti grinned as he noticed Garuru resist the urge to roll his eyes. "It gave me a chance to... assess you, as you will, compare you to how you were as that troubled teenager back in my classroom." He leaned against his couch. "You were alone. I noticed that about you. I never heard you mention any friends or classmates or even lovers; just your father, your brother, and on the occasion, your therapist." He gazed out the window. "I'm glad to see that... at least by that much, you've changed."

Garuru followed Multiti's gaze and saw that he had been staring at his teammates; Taruru trying to catch Tororo as the tadpole rolled down a hill, still unconscious from sleep.

"They're my platoon," Garuru said strictly. "Nothing more."

"Mm. I've been in a platoon before, son," Multiti said, his tone forcing the purple Keronian to look at him. "None of them would have ever sacrificed this much time and effort for their leader like your team has. Not even me." He ate another acorn. "Trust me, Garuru: what you have there is more than a platoon. Call it what you want, but let me tell you at least this much- you don't find Keronians like them everyday."

"I'll remain adamant on the matter," Garuru said with a frown. "They're nothing more than-"

Multiti waved a hand. "As successful as you are, Garuru, I'm afraid you'll never be as wise as I am."

Garuru furrowed his brows, annoyed.

"By the way."

"Yes."

"Consider all this punishment for not even bothering to contact your old teacher once," Multiti smirked. "Seriously. Call me once in a while; I might actually _die _before you get the chance to."

"Next time you claim you're dying," Garuru folded his arms, "You honestly _better _be on your deathbed."

"Gotcha." Multiti jerked a thumb toward the door. "Now go on. Your family's waiting for you."

* * *

"You never told us that," Taruru said with a grin, startling Garuru slightly.

The purple Keronian looked away. "...I had forgotten you were in the room."

"Mmmhm. Yeah. Okay." Taruru had a huge, silly smile on. "Too bad Tororo was asleep. Bet that would've made him all warm and fuzzy inside, too-"

"Or, he could have blackmailed you," I noted.

"True."

My phone rang again, and I picked it up, wincing at the caller I.D.

"Kitty, right?" Taruru asked.

"Yeah," I sighed.

"She was real upset when you kept ignoring her calls."

"Yeah... I know." After a moment of just staring at the screen, I held my breath, and then pressed "Answer".

"Hey... Kitty?" I walked out of the room.

* * *

**It's about time I finally submitted a chapter, right? XD Whoo. **

**If you haven't noticed, this is indeed a parody of an episode of an anime. If you get it, kudos for you. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. **

**Of course, if I got anyone OOC, I grant the usual apologies Dx **

**I also give credit to The-Derp-We-Call-Taruru for any and all of the references used from her story "A day in the life of Pururu". **


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